Check out more about Phil here: www.uifoundation.org/facultystaff

I became “Phil” shortly after I joined the staff at the University of Iowa Henry B. Tippie College of Business last fall. I had known about the We Are Phil campaign before, but after hearing that my fellow staff and faculty members achieved a 91 percent giving rate in fiscal 2014 — and about their ambitions to lead campus again with the highest participation after this record-setting year — I couldn’t let the group down.

Through this campaign and the willingness of our college to come together to support all efforts on campus, I realized it was time for my first gift to the university. As an Iowa alumna from a family of Hawkeyes, and as a current staff member, I recognize that the university has given me and my family so many opportunities over the years — and I not only wanted to show my gratitude but also to honor someone in my family who has supported all her children: my mother.

In 1998, my mother was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia in my hometown of Council Bluffs. Thanks to the quick thinking of my sister, who was a medical student in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine at the time, my mother traveled to Iowa City for an appointment at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Iowa. After a treatment plan was set, they immediately admitted her into the hospital for a week of chemotherapy. Thankfully, this sent her disease into remission.

Her leukemia has re-emerged twice since 1998, but because of the knowledge and skill of her doctor at the UI Hospitals and Clinics, her treatments have helped her to keep fighting. Today, she visits the “survivor’s clinic” at the Holden Cancer Center for regular checkups and continues to travel across the state in order to receive the best care possible — here at the UI.

My gift to the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center gave me the feeling that I contributed to the university (as well as my mom’s well-being) on a different level and gave me joy in knowing that I made a difference, no matter the size of the donation. Also, it felt wonderful to be able to honor someone who never gets the recognition she deserves.

I’m proud to donate as part of the We Are Phil faculty/staff campaign and proud to be part of the 97 percent of Tippie College of Business members who gave back to the university in fiscal year 2015. I look forward to my future of giving back to Iowa, and I hope you will join me in making a gift this week—to whatever cause on campus you care about most.

Ashley Funkhauser (2004 B.A.)

Director of Alumni Relations

Tippie College of Business