[youTubeVideo url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTV6v9bwT10″ width=”638″ height=”338″]
Shealy gift to benefit psychology, agriculture programs, students
Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University, ended the same way it began – with a major gift. Missouri State University announced today (Jan. 11) that it surpassed its goal of $125 million by attaining a grand total of $167,000,783 in gifts and commitments.
Campaign co-chairs Tom Strong and Ramona McQueary announced the total at a celebration luncheon for campaign volunteers and staff. In addition, a significant gift from Dr. Norm Shealy, benefiting the psychology and agriculture programs, was announced.
A gift from Dr. Jerry Atwood, creating the Dr. Jerry Atwood Endowed Professorship in Chemistry, was also announced. Atwood is a 1964 Missouri State graduate and now an internationally-known chemist. He started his career at the University of Alabama in 1967 and has been the chemistry department head at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 1994. In addition, he was appointed a Curators Professor in 1999.
“We very much appreciate these generous gifts from Dr. Shealy and Dr. Atwood as the capstone gifts to our campaign,” said Missouri State President Clifton M. Smart III. “Their gifts, like all gifts to the campaign over the past seven years, are a testament to the impact Missouri State has had on alumni and the community over the years. We are humbled by the outpouring of support, which is so crucial today.”
Shealy gift
Shealy’s gift, valued at well over $2 million, involves his 250-acre Fair Grove farm, which includes farmland, livestock, a conference center and other structures. “Faculty and students at MSU are excited about the Shealy farm gift, which will be an asset for hands-on-learning activities and research,” said Dr. Anson Elliot, School of Agriculture head. “This facility would allow us to go beyond the present purebred and crossbred cow/calf operations to also include the backgrounding and the finishing operations that could result in MSU local wholesome meat products that have capitalized on grass and forages.”
The gift will also establish the Mary-Charlotte Bayles Shealy Chair in Conscientious Psychology. “Conscientiousness is one of five core personality factors identified by psychologists,” said Dr. Timothy Daugherty, psychology department head. “Dr. Shealy’s gift will allow MSU’s psychology department to assume leadership in an unprecedented focus on research and teaching related to the understanding and development of conscientiousness.”
“For 50 years my work has focused on safe and effective ways to relieve pain and depression,” Shealy said. “In the past two years it has become increasingly obvious that conscientiousness is the key to restoring health and longevity. The least conscientious individuals are much less healthy, and often seek drugs and crime as ways to satisfy their problems. Although we know a lot about conscientious people, the real need for society is developing tools for motivating those who lack conscientiousness. The Mary-Charlotte Bayles Shealy Chair of Conscientious Psychology puts Missouri State University at the forefront throughout the world in developing this important field of psychology.”
Promises kept
[youTubeVideo url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRCIT5N_LlM” width=”638″ height=”338″]
Since the Our Promise campaign launched, the Missouri State University Foundation has received 16 gifts greater than $1 million, 34 gifts from $500,000- $1 million, 89 gifts from $100,000-$500,000, 90 gifts from $50,00-$100,000 and 866 gifts from $10,000-$50,000. A total of 73,270 donors gave to the campaign.
“It is inspiring to learn that more than 73,000 donors supported Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University,” Strong said. “It was more than just a few individuals; it was a network of Missouri State family, friends and alumni that allowed us to exceed our expectations. Raising more than $167 million speaks to the loyalty of those who love Missouri State.”
The number of new scholarships established totaled more than 375, benefiting more than 8,000 students since the campaign launched. In addition, 17 new faculty positions were established.
“Gifts large and small made to Our Promise are impacting every area of the Missouri State University community,” McQueary said. “The generosity of those who invest in Missouri State students are not just helping students of today thrive, they have laid the groundwork for a better Missouri State educational experience for generations of students to come.”
A total of 29 capital projects were supported by donors during the campaign. The first major gift of the campaign was the largest in university history – $30 million from developer John Q. Hammons to build JQH Arena. Several significant gifts contributing to numerous campus facilities followed, including:
- McQueary Family Health Sciences Hall – this gift helped fund an expansion, which houses an anatomy laboratory, classrooms and offices for various health-related programs
- Greenwood Science Scholars Wing – the new wing includes two 1,800 square foot state-of-the-art lab/classrooms with storage space, two study atriums, faculty offices and a large student atrium
- Darr Agricultural Center – significant gifts helped fund expansion of the Darr Agricultural Center, including classroom and lab facilities
- Journagan Ranch – the Journagan Family donated their 3,000+ acre ranch in Douglas County, which includes cattle, equipment and other ranch facilities
- Foster Family University Recreation Center – the gift helped fund the 100,000-square-foot, $30 million facility containing three gyms, a climbing wall, an aquatics area, an indoor track, a cardio-fitness center, locker rooms and multipurpose rooms for fitness assessment, dance and other related activities
- Robert W. Plaster Center for Free Enterprise and Business Development – the center will serve as the primary source of the entrepreneurial support in IDEA Commons, utilizing the resources of the Small Business and Technology Development Center
- Jim D. Morris Basketball Complex – a major gift helped fund basketball locker rooms and team facilities in JQH Arena
- Betty and Bobby Allison Courts and Betty and Bobby Allison Recreation Fields – the gift helped support the construction of the recreation center and endow a portion of the intramural sports program
- Gohn Hall on the West Plains – donated to the university, the renovated home will provide office and classroom space for the Missouri State University Outreach Program on the West Plains campus
“It is amazing to see the outpouring of private support for Missouri State, and even though the campaign has concluded, we are still raising money for Missouri State since there are many new goals and new initiatives to fund. And we will always need to increase scholarship support for students,” said Brent Dunn, vice president for university advancement. “The Our Promise campaign will help us raise even more private support in the future as we expand our outreach nationally and around the world.”
Leave a Reply