MSU Foundation receives record gifts

The foundation has received more than $11.85 million in gifts in fiscal 2008; the previous annual record was $11.83 million in 2005–06.

“We are obviously very pleased we have already surpassed our record set a few years ago, and we still have two more months to go in this fiscal year,” said Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement, in a news release. “Investing in higher education is important to the future and is changing lives.”

Significant gifts this year include the Guy Mace Endowed Professorship in Engineering; gifts from the Darr Family Foundation and Journagan Construction for the Darr Agricultural Center; the Bill Berry Endowed Scholarship; and the Dr. Robert W. Martin Research Fellowship. The foundation also has received more than $3.4 million in gifts for JQH Arena.

The university established the foundation in 1981 as the fundraising arm of the school; since then, it has received $142 million in outright gifts and another $31 million in deferred gifts. The foundation endowment stands at more than $55 million.