Derek Wan's class assignment for Engl 250
Date: December 1, 2000
To: Jesse Rosenblum
From: Office of College Relations
Subject: Nike and Tiger Woods Golf Program at TCNJ
Program
The College of New Jersey hosts the first annual one-week golf program in conjunction with Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer under the Trenton Center Campus and Community Partnership. The one-week program will provide children with the opportunity to receive hands-on training from professional golfers in the area. Tiger Woods will make a guest appearance at the closing ceremony. Nike will provide corporate sponsorship for the program. This venture will bring more than $10.5 million to the community, which will cover all equipment and housing costs.
College ambassadors, health and physical education students, and other volunteers will staff the event for free. The program supports the best interests of children through mentoring, education, and the idea of school-based programs. Sports are an effective tool for teaching kids important lessons – respect, resolve, teamwork and self-esteem – that carry over into the classroom, home and community. Our students act as motivators and mentors in our safe academic facility.
In their everyday lives kids experience so many distractions — so many temptations and obligations. Kids have much growing and learning to do. This venture gives them the chance to put their challenges aside and just be kids. It builds confidence and develops critical life skills – a "jump start" on the road to a healthier, more productive life.
Nike will sponsor the golf summer league, where students from the Trenton community will participate. In addition to the operation of the league, Nike will fund and execute athlete development seminars focusing on academic preparation, working with Collegebound at TCNJ.
Facilities – housing: TCNJ; golfing: Princeton Country Club
Background
Under the mission statement of The College of New Jersey:
 | The college fosters friendships and facilitates learning in personal success. |
| The college provides a nurturing environment in which participants can develop. |
| The college aims to create spaces, programs, and initiatives to enhance academic and creative accomplishment. |
| The college provides facilities, programs, services, and amenities that enhance opportunities for formal and informal interaction in a living-learning environment. |
| The college promotes wellness and fosters the development of the whole person. |
| Nike endorsement contributes to the capital campaign. |
Trenton Campus and Communities Partnerships
| Providing substantial resources to revive the neighborhoods, school systems, and local economy. Emerging as a combined force, focus in higher education can integrate teaching, research, and direct community service activities. Our college plays a key role in the progression of the community viability — there must be a good place to live, study, invest and play. |
| Civic responsibility. Ideas on the four questions outlined by the First Year Experience: 1. What does it mean to be human? |
2. What does it mean to be a member of a community?
3. What does it mean to be moral, ethical, and just?
4. How do individuals and members of communities relate to differences in race, class, ethnicity, and gender?
Benefits
| Investment in the community. Inner-city youth learn how to golf, a sport very rarely emphasized in school curricula (physical education) from professional golfers. |
| Provide revenue and support. In return, corporate sponsors receive valuable national exposure and an association with one of the top academic institutions in the country. We will be able to provide the program with additional opportunities, as well as increase operating budgets. |
| Additional sources of income. The college may build new corporate relationships in the future. Corporations will have visible support for student aid, increased awareness, and marketing opportunities. |
| Recruitment. The program exposes students to the college, and may attract them to the resources of our institution. In conjunction with the Collegebound program, it provides a breakthrough to encourage, support and validate post-secondary education at our institution. |
| Revive and validate a positive campus climate. Our goal is that our graduates leave with an ongoing commitment to the improvement of their society and the wider world. We will also serve the continuing education needs of our region. |
Considerations/Concerns
Nike association in sweatshop labor may contribute to protests by students, particularly Amnesty International.