It All Adds Up for Students

Published Date September 13, 2026

News Type Public Address

Gigi Bix, second from right, with (from left) Amaris Lemus, legislative analyst; Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla; and Jessica Cáceres, legislative aide, while Bix was an intern with the City of Columbus.

By Joan Slattery Wall

When Glenn College alumni and friends came together in the spring to raise money for student support, they created a windfall that’s providing scholarships this year for nine students in the combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program.

The Day of Giving effort made use of matching funds provided by the university and alumni to drive up the college’s Student Support Fund and make a difference in the lives of passionate students like Gigi Bix.

Bix, who is majoring in public management, leadership and policy, will receive her bachelor’s degree in the spring and her master’s in 2028.

Accelerating Education

The Glenn College’s combined degree program is designed for students to earn both their undergraduate degree and a Master of Public Administration in five years or less.

Her scholarship from the Student Support Fund will help her as she makes plans to obtain a student loan.

“Having that cushion helps me and helps my parents. It helps me to have that sense that I’m taking ownership of my education more than anything, but it also puts my family in a much better way to support me in the future,” she said. “I’m very grateful to the Glenn College because I received a scholarship last year and this year.”

I want to get every piece of the public affairs pie.

Gigi Bix, Glenn College BA/MPA student

She also feels fortunate that the Glenn College has enabled her to get an array of experiences in different fields while she’s completing her studies.

Bix spent this summer as a Fellow with the Columbus Foundation working for the Children’s Hunger Alliance. She also has been a public partnerships assistant with United Way of Central Ohio and an intern with the Ohio Department of Education and Columbus City Council.

Day of Giving 2027

Save the date to harness collective giving to make an impact at the Glenn College. The 2027 Day of Giving is set for April 20. Learn more about giving to the Glenn College by contacting Stephanie Mohr, senior director of development.

“It was neat to see that working for the city you have to be a generalist attacking all these issues, while the nonprofits we lean on for specific issues,” she said, adding that she most enjoyed her work with the city, where she saw council members directly interacting with constituents. “I really enjoy seeing the fruits of your labor come to life.”

Alumni who participated in Day of Giving included two who attended Ohio State when the college was the School of Public Administration and who both went on to be colonels in the military.

Mike Champness, MPA ’87

Mike Champness, MPA ’87, who has been supporting the Glenn College for 29 years, and a second generous graduate each provided $1,000 as a match to encourage other people to support students on Day of Giving.

“It’s not necessarily a whole lot more money, but it has a lot more impact. Students are going to do the work; the funding is to help them do what they want to do. It is achievable. Hearing that it’s having an effect makes me want to do more,” Champness said. “For my fellow older alumni, you don’t have to be a financial mogul to do something like that. You don’t have to be multimillionaire; I am not.”

It doesn’t take a huge amount to make a big difference.

Mike Champness

MPA ’87

Champness, a retired Air Force reserve colonel who works in Operations Support with the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, has worked for the Pentagon and Congress and has deployed to Afghanistan.

He also enjoys making a difference by sharing career advice directly with Glenn College students in Columbus and Washington, D.C.

“It’s gratifying. I see some people brag to students about what they’ve done, but when I talk to them, I tell them about the train wrecks. They like that. It’s real life — sharing what it’s like to be in those situations. It’s rejuvenating,” he said. “That’s exactly what the Glenn College teaches: how to think and how to ask questions and how to make sense of all that’s going on right now.”

John McGruder, MA ’73 and PhD ’75

John McGruder, who received his MA in 1973 and PhD in 1975 with an emphasis in criminal justice, also participated in Day of Giving.

The impetus for his five decades of philanthropy to the Glenn College stems from support he received as he began his degrees after serving active duty in the U.S. Army.

At the time, Professor Clint Oster, founding director of the School of Public Administration, took a chance and admitted him even though his undergraduate degree grades weren’t superior. He ended up getting a research assistantship with Professor Harry Allen at the Program for the Study of Crime and Delinquency and was advised by Professor Arthur Lynn in public administration.

“I really felt an allegiance to the school,” said McGruder, whose first job after graduation was at the U.S. Justice Department analyzing the Drug Enforcement Agency budget. He went on to work at the U.S. State Department in executive positions including deputy executive director for International Narcotics Matters; operations division chief, Management Planning Staff; director, Office of Management Systems and Programs; and executive director for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environment and Scientific Affairs and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

He spent the last 10 years of his reserve career as a commander of various U.S. Army Reserve Military Intelligence Units assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency. He retired from the U.S. Department of State and as a colonel from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1999.

“When I was going to become a senior officer, which is senior executive service, that’s kind of a big jump. One of the things that I know helped me cross that threshold was having a doctorate. Even 10 years later, that degree was paying dividends to me,” McGruder said. “Because I always felt good about that personally, I’ve felt like that was something that I needed to do for the university, too.”

“And then it’s just become a natural habit,” said McGruder, who contributed $100 to Day of Giving.

I want to give wherever the school says they need it.

John McGruder

MA ’73 and PhD ’75

“It’s flexible money. So if the school says, ‘We want to give to students,’ that’s great. I love supporting the students. It’s a great option for me,” McGruder said. “But if they said, ‘Hey, we need a new computer and nobody’s given money for the computer; we need $500 for that,’ then I’m going to give for the computer.”

“To me the part that is useful is that it’s heartfelt. It is a giving from my heart to whatever I think the school needs,” McGruder said. “It’s to the heart of the school.”

While the funds benefitting from Day of Giving vary each year, this year the 36 donors provided a windfall of $7,550 for the Student Support Fund, which has awarded scholarships to nearly 100 students since 2016.

“There is no small gift,” said Glenn College Senior Director of Development Stephanie Mohr. “When there’s a volume of gifts, it’s adding up.”

“The flexibility afforded to us by the Student Support Fund makes it a crucial component of our overall scholarship strategy,” said Chris Adams, the college director of student services and programs. “Whether we are using it to support undergraduate, master’s or combined program students, this fund allows us to adapt to changing circumstances and support as many students as possible with scholarships.”

Read the latest edition of Public Address, the Glenn College magazine.