Heads of the Class: Local universities draw on notable alumni

Bob Barker felt right at home attending Drury University.

The winner of multiple Emmy awards for five decades of TV work, including 35 years hosting "The Price is Right," is a Springfield native and attended Central High School, just across the street from Drury's campus.

Barker accepted a basketball scholarship to the college - mainly, as he says, because his future wife, Dorothy Jo, was attending, "and I didn't have any money."

His time at Drury has turned into a lifelong relationship with the school, culminating most recently with a $1 million donation to establish the nation's first undergraduate animal rights program.

"I think that the establishment of the endowment will be of great benefit both to animals and to Drury," said Barker, a 1947 graduate. "This endowment fund puts Drury in the vanguard of undergraduate universities."

Universities have many valuable assets, from property and buildings to faculty to large endowments and scholarship funds. But for four area schools - Drury, Evangel, Missouri State and Southwest Baptist universities - perhaps no asset is more valuable than alumni support.

'A mutual blessing' at Evangel

Evangel University's alumni office tries to nurture alumni relationships on a more personal level, according to Alumni Relations Director Chuck Cox.

Cox writes personal notes to alumni, and Evangel President Robert Spence travels around the country to meet with alumni groups.

"Whenever he travels, he and I look at his schedule to see if there is anything we can do to take advantage of him being in major metropolitan areas," Cox said.

Evangel boasts some nationally known alumni, including: Adm. Vern Clark, former chief of U.S. Naval Operations and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kansas; and Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan, who sits on the federal appellate bench for the Northern District of Illinois.

Adm. Clark, class of 1967, said the personal attention he received from professors at Evangel was crucial to developing him for the military.

"I had a couple of professors who invested heavily in me, and I can't tell you why they decided to do that, but the result was an impact on my own confidence in taking on and challenging the world that I was transitioning to," Clark said.

Clark has since given back to the school both through financial contributions and serving as honorary chairman of the school's nine-year, $45 million capital campaign.

Cox noted that financial support from alumni is even more important to private universities that receive little government funding.

"We're dependent on donations and gift income to defray operating expenses and provide scholarships that will make it possible for students to attend," Cox said. "Our gift income is pivotal in meeting our goals that way."

One example: The school's new $11 million Riggs Hall administration building was funded in large part by alumni gifts, according to Evangel Public Relations Director Paul Logsdon.

Drury's tangible support

For Drury, alumni name recognition on campus has increased substantially in recent months.

The street running in front of the school is named for Barker, who spoke at the school's 2007 commencement.

Other recent support came from Springfield's O'Reilly family, which boasts nine Drury alumni including siblings David, Larry and Rosalie. The automotive parts retailing family name will hang on a new campus athletics center in honor of its $6 million donation - half of the expected construction cost for which officials are still raising funds.

For Krystal Compas, Drury's vice president for alumni and development, the alumni commitment to the school is a testament to Drury's efforts to reach out to graduates and stay connected.

"The office of alumni development's primary goal is to keep our alumni and friends educated about what's happening at Drury, and provide opportunities for them to share their time, treasure and talent with the institution," said Compas, noting that 68 percent of people who make financial contributions to Drury are alums.

Barker said he keeps in regular contact with several fellow alumni and served at one point on the school's board, though he gave up that seat because of time commitments.

Expanding MSU's reach

At Missouri State University, alumni development officials are doing more outreach work to reconnect with the university's 85,000 alumni for whom the school has valid addresses.

While the university continues to publish its alumni magazine three times a year and invites various alumni groups to campus each year for homecoming festivities, Executive Director of Alumni Relations Julie Ann Ebersold said work has increased to reach those graduates in new ways.

"We have a list of about 10 target cities outside Missouri, and about as many in Missouri, where significant numbers of alumni live, and we've been visiting those areas more frequently to ... give them an update, answer questions about the school, and allow them to meet other alumni in their area and network," Ebersold said.

She said the networking opportunities, such as one held April 3 in Marshfield, are particularly popular with more recent graduates, as are the school's new alumni e-newsletters.

While financial contributions are vital for the school - MSU received a record $3.01 million through gifts from more than 8,000 alumni in fiscal 2008 - Ebersold said there is another value alumni bring to current students.

"It's wonderful for the university when we can bring back some of our graduates who can visit classrooms, talk with students and bring their expertise back to campus," she said.

1993 MSU graduate Bill Mueller contributes his 11 years of Major League Baseball experience to the university baseball team. Now a special assistant to Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti, Mueller stays in touch with MSU Coach Keith Guttin mainly via text message, Guttin said, adding that the team's clubhouse is named for Mueller because of a "six-figure contribution" to the program.

Guttin said having names such as Mueller and 2006 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Howard as MSU alums boosts recruiting.

"(Mueller) won an American League batting championship (in 2003) and a World Series ring (with the Boston Red Sox in 2004)," Guttin said. "We're very proud of his accomplishments in baseball, along with Ryan Howard and many of our other alumni."

SBU stories

While Stephanie Schierholz Fibbs doesn't wear a World Series ring, she does know how to reach for the stars.

At 30, the 2001 Southwest Baptist University graduate has achieved what she calls her "lifelong dream" of working for NASA. Fibbs, a Colorado Springs, Colo., native, is one of NASA's public affairs specialists.

She was drawn to SBU by one of its recruitment buses, a program the Bolivar school had run in various states.

"It was $20 to reserve a spot on the bus, and they would bring kids for a weekend to SBU. When you got on the bus, you got your $20 back," said Fibbs, who received scholarships for both academics and soccer.

"My twin sister and I went during our junior year, when we were just starting to get an idea on colleges."

Drawing on those types of unique experiences is what makes alumni so valuable, said SBU Marketing and Communications Director Sharina Smith.

"I keep in touch with alumni for stories, because they have great stories about their time here and they're great at recruiting students from the churches in their area," Smith said.

"I have a list of people that I know I can count on if I have a student in their area to speak with them."[[In-content Ad]]