MSU endowment reaches $51 million

At the end of 2006, the fund had reached $51 million, up from $46.8 million as of June 30 and $41 million in July 2005.

When MSU President Michael Nietzel came to the school a year and a half ago, he set a goal for the endowment to reach $100 million.

“I understand that is a long-term goal, but we have made excellent progress in that past 18 months, and I am optimistic that we can achieve that goal sooner rather than later,” he said in a news release this morning.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, the foundation set a record by receiving 34,800 gifts totaling $11.8 million. It also received the largest gift commitment in its history – $30 million from Springfield hotel developer John Q. Hammons for JQH Arena, for which construction began Dec. 21.

The foundation was established in 1981 as the university’s fund-raising arm. Since then, it has received $120 million in outright gifts and another $39 million in deferred gifts.