2013 branding success newsletter

FALL 2013

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION2

B R A N D I N G S U C C E S S E X E C U TI V E C A M PA I G N CO M M IT T E E

Co-Chairs: Honorary Chair: Ross & Billie McKnight T. Boone Pickens

Vice Chairs:Calvin & Linda Anthony, John & Cheryl Clerico, Rick & Lerri Cooper, Steven & Jennifer Grigsby, Joe & Vickie Hall, Don & Cathey Humphreys, David & Tracy Kyle, Malone & Amy Mitchell, Joe & Connie Mitchell, Don & Linda Nickles, Barry & Roxanne Pollard, Bill & Candye Spears, Carl & Marilynn Thoma, Chuck & Kim Watson

O K L A H O M A S TAT E U N I V E R S IT Y FO U N DATI O N400 South Monroe / Stillwater, OK 74074 / Ph. 800.622.4678 / Fax [email protected] / OSUgiving.com

Uniting Donor and University Passions and Priorities to Achieve Excellence

BRANDING SUCCESS: THE CAMPAIGN FOR OSU 3

Nearly six years ago we launched Branding Success: The Campaign for Oklahoma State University. The economic meltdown that soon followed left some people wondering if we could reach our $1 billion goal in seven years, yet here we are with more than $1 billion in gifts and commitments and 16 months left in the campaign.

Under the leadership of President Burns Hargis, OSU is aiming higher than ever before. Record numbers of supporters are making the largest comprehensive higher-education fundraising campaign in state history a success, and we’re seeing the impact on all OSU campuses.

Because of you, Oklahoma State is now on a short list of public universities that reached a $1 billion goal in a comprehensive fundraising campaign. The tremendous support for our campaign priorities

— students, faculty, facilities and programs — has not diminished, which tells us that the president’s message continues to resonate with those who love the university.

Across the nation, state funding for public universities continues to decline, and Oklahoma is no exception. Private support allows OSU to provide more scholarships, strengthen academic and athletic programs, remain competitive when recruiting scholars for faculty positions, and construct better facilities.

As Will Rogers once said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Rest assured, OSU is on the right track and everyone here is working together to offer the very best educational experience.

Thank you again for all you do for OSU through your support.

Gratefully,

KIRK JEWELLPresidentOSU Foundation

DEAR OSU ALUMNI AND FRIENDS,

The ceremony commemorating the achievement took place on an unusually cool but sunny spring day with the remodeled north wing of the Student Union as the backdrop; but the weather didn’t stop a large crowd of students, faculty, alumni and friends of the university from gathering for the 40-minute celebration. Many more watched the historic occasion live on OState.TV.

“I’m thrilled to announce today, and I never thought I’d get to do this, we have exceeded $1 billion,” says Hargis. “More than 80,000 individuals and corporate partners have participated in this campaign. Many are alumni who have reconnected with the university, but many are not.”

Also at the event, businessman and OSU alumnus Ross McKnight, who is co-chairing the campaign with his wife, Billie, paid tribute to President Hargis for getting the university to where it is today.

“Burns Hargis is that leader we needed for Oklahoma State University. No one, no one,

could have brought us to this point without Burns’ leadership,” McKnight says.

The campaign has impacted the university in many ways. Nearly 1,000 scholarship funds have been created in 5½ years, which equals thousands of individual scholarship opportunities for OSU students. In addition, more than 130 endowed faculty positions have been created. Those positions make it easier for OSU to recruit outstanding teachers and researchers.

Spending from OSU’s endowment has also increased substantially since 2008. The amount of funds available to the university from the endowment has more than doubled in the past five years. Also speaking at the celebration event was OSU’s largest benefactor, T. Boone Pickens, who looked back at all that’s been accomplished since the campaign began. “I didn’t doubt we could do it, I really didn’t,” Pickens says. “The school is a different school today.”

OKLAHOMA STATE MADE HISTORY ON APRIL 24 WHEN PRESIDENT BURNS

HARGIS ANNOUNCED TO ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORTERS GATHERED ON THE

NEW OUTDOOR PLAZA AT THE STUDENT UNION THAT BRANDING SUCCESS:

THE CAMPAIGN FOR OKLAHOMA STATE HAD TOPPED THE $1 BILLION MARK.


Following the unveiling of a large banner that celebrated surpassing the $1 billion goal, President Hargis returned to the podium to emphasize that the campaign is not over and will continue until the scheduled completion date of December 2014.

“We have a lot to do between now and the end of the campaign,” says Hargis. “In addition to new academic facilities and programs on all our campuses, we have a lot of activity taking place in the new Athletic Village on the north side of the Stillwater campus.”

Hargis noted that the university has great momentum thanks to the generosity of supporters, and we need to keep the momentum going to achieve all the goals established when the campaign began. Branding Success is supporting students, faculty, facilities and programs by adding funding in these areas. For example, more than $500 million has been raised to support student scholarships.

FEWER THAN 40 PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES IN THE U. S . HAVE REACHED A

$1 B ILLION GOAL IN A COMPREHENSIVE FUNDR AISING CAMPAIGN, AND

NOW OSU WILL BE INCLUDED ON THE LIST.

I’M THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY, AND I NEVER THOUGHT

I’D GET TO DO THIS, WE HAVE EXCEEDED $1 BILLION. MORE

THAN 80,000 INDIVIDUALS AND CORPORATE PARTNERS HAVE

PARTICIPATED IN THIS CAMPAIGN.” - OSU PRESIDENT BURNS HARGIS


Photos continue on next page »

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO RECAP


LASSO CENTERAs part of the transition from high school to college, students learn how to prioritize their time and study effectively. Oklahoma State realizes the need to help students who struggle adapting to college and has established the Learning and Student Success Opportunity Center (LASSO) as a way to build independence.

LASSO offers tutoring, study-skills development, test preparation and mentoring among other services. Students are encouraged to use the tools as a way to build self-efficacy (the belief in one’s ability to succeed) and boost OSU’s retention rates. Students with an undecided major, who are under academic probation or who have low high-school GPAs are actively engaged to ensure their college career is successful.

BUILDING PROJECTSSpears School of Business | The new building for the Spears School of Business will drive the college to a higher level of national prominence by creating a learning space that gives students an advantage over their peers. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and innovative design, the new building will include an auditorium, atrium and the Chesapeake Energy Student Success Center, among other amenities.

College of Human Sciences | Adding a wing and renovating the existing structure for the College of Human Sciences building will create a collaborative space to forge relationships with industry partners while pushing the boundaries of social and scientific research and technology transfer. The spaces will be designed to promote interdisciplinary education opportunities across the College’s four academic units, foster professional partnerships with area businesses and provide ample space for a variety of university events.

Postal Plaza Gallery | As part of the Oklahoma State University Museum of Art, the Postal Plaza Gallery will provide spaces for student learning, faculty research and community outreach for Stillwater and the surrounding areas. The gallery, located in the historic post office in downtown Stillwater, will house the university’s permanent art collection and host a variety of traveling exhibitions. The space is expected to

Branding Success: The Campaign for OSU is fulfilling its promise, and the effects are being felt across all five campuses. Nearly 1,000 scholarship funds, along with several program and building initiatives, have been created since the campaign’s launch, and their influence ripples far outside the classroom. Scholarships empower students to attend college while strengthening the state, national and global economy with well-trained employees. Innovative programs and new facilities equate to a higher caliber of learning and success that represents the excellence of Oklahoma State.

Remaining Branding Success funding priorities include the following:

O S U - S T I L LWAT E R

R E M A I N I N G C A M PA I G N P R I O R I T I E S

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Postal Plaza Gallery


OSU-OKC STUDENT SUCCESS CENTER

Much like LASSO on the Stillwater campus, the Student Success Center at OSU-OKC is dedicated to helping students excel at Oklahoma State. Studies show that many Oklahomans do not complete their degrees or obtain their certificates because of a number of variables, including not being academically prepared. Funds will allow OSU-OKC to expand the Center’s programming with additional advisors, more tutors and specialists to assist with historically challenging courses, a staff member dedicated to career services and more. The

Center already supports existing services such as a computer lab, online enrollment access and support, a mentoring program, access to learning communities and a retention tool that prompts students to meet with an advisor if they begin struggling in a course.

O S U - O KC

open this fall with a variety of activities and exhibitions scheduled for its inaugural year. The gallery is part of the university’s strategic plan for the OSU Museum of Art that includes a potential on-campus museum.

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory | The 30,000-square-foot Structural Engineering and Materials Laboratory will be built as a creative learning environment to prepare students for a future of innovation and leadership in a variety of engineering fields.

Diverse labs will create a hands-on environment for education, research and outreach. Planned labs include a Strong Floor, Advanced Construction Materials and a Live Fire Chamber that are meant to test the structural abilities and assemblies of building materials.

The building will also feature equipment and spaces to advance ways to measure and monitor the performance of construction materials on micro and nano scales.

ATHLETICSLeave a Legacy | The Leave a Legacy Program has a goal of raising $115 million to endow every student-athlete scholarship. Doing so will provide students the best education possible while freeing funds to reinvest in facilities, staff and other needs.

Athletic Village | The Athletic Village has its first tenants with the Sherman E. Smith Training Center, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center and the new track facility, all located north of Boone Pickens Stadium. The Sherman E. Smith Training Center is already being used by the football team and work continues on the Tennis Center and track facility while plans for an improved soccer complex and new baseball complex gain momentum.

A new locker room and other amenities will create a more comprehensive soccer complex at the existing field north of the Colvin Center on Hall of Fame.

The baseball complex will be built at the corner of McElroy and Washington, just north of the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center. Plans are being developed.

Naming opportunities for both the track and baseball complexes exist as do other ways to become involved in the Athletic Village.

Equestrian Center | OSU is in the early planning stages for a new Equestrian Center near the intersection of Highway 51 and Western at the old swine barn. Architects envision a new facility that reflects the excellence of the equestrian program, which has won five NECA championships since 2000.


COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE EARLY ADMISSIONS SCHOLARSHIPS

Thanks to many primary care physicians who choose to serve in rural communities, Oklahoma families can stay in their hometown for medical care. With nearly 20 percent of rural physicians exceeding the age of 65, a new generation of doctors are vital to the state’s wellness.

The initiative for Osteopathic Medicine Early Admissions Scholarships at OSU Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS) is working to

encourage medical students to jump-start their education. Students who are eager to practice in rural Oklahoma towns will receive preference. The initiative will improve Oklahoma’s standing for overall health, which is currently 43rd in the country, and address shortages of health professionals.

O S U - C H S

For additional information, please contact us at [email protected] or 800.622.4678.

IMPACT TULSA SCHOLARSHIPS

OSU-Tulsa’s student body is made up of mostly working adults. A typical day for many students is full of work, family obligations, class and homework. Many students are looking to

improve their job opportunities and build a better future for their families.

Impact Tulsa Scholarships will allow more students to focus on school and earn a degree that will help them find a better job. This initiative will simultaneously strengthen the Oklahoma economy while improving the quality of life for graduates.

O S U -T U L S A

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY NATURAL GAS COMPRESSION TRAINING CENTER

A ribbon cutting event will celebrate the opening of the Chesapeake Energy Natural Gas Compression Training Center this fall. The new Center will support the region’s energy industry by providing a highly-skilled talent pool ready to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation. The Center is focused on applied learning, giving students practical experience in analytically

diagnosing, servicing and maintaining advanced gas compression systems. Naming and funding opportunities remain for spaces inside the Center.

O S U I T


Women for Oklahoma State University began when a group of passionate and

successful ladies united to inspire leadership through their support of OSU. Their efforts have created incredible momentum that is transforming the university and improving communities through women making a difference.

The organization’s signature event is the annual symposium, which has sold out each of the past five years. A highlight of each symposium is the presentation of scholarships to the Student Philanthropists of the Year. The group’s fundraising success empowered it to increase the number of $2,000 scholarships each year from one in 2009 to five in 2012. At the 2013 symposium, each of the five recipients, including Women for OSU’s first male honoree, were surprised with $5,000 scholarships.

According to chairwoman Trish Houston Prawl, a founding member of Women for OSU, all 12 Student Philanthropists of the Year between 2009 and 2012 have made a donation to the OSU Foundation, which shows Women for OSU is fulfilling its mission.

“These students are true philanthropists even before they begin their careers,” Houston Prawl

says. “Not only do they regularly use their time and talent to help others, but most of our recipients make their first monetary donation to OSU before they even graduate.”

Another symposium highlight is the announcement of the Philanthropist of the Year. The 2013 honoree was Sue Taylor, an Enid community leader, supporter of many causes, homemaker and loyal Oklahoma State University child development and family sciences alumna. She and her late husband, John, were responsible for establishing the College of Human Sciences’ first professorship in 1990, endowing four President’s Distinguished Scholarships, providing for the creation of Taylor’s Dining Room, becoming Founding Partners of the Distinguished Chef Scholarship Series and providing a lead gift for Karsten Creek Golf Course.

“The symposium is such a special event every year,” Houston Prawl says. “So many great women fill the room, creating an amazing energy that is inspirational. I look forward to next year’s symposium and hearing keynote speaker Jean Chatzky’s story about her journey and life experience that had motivated her work.”

As Women for OSU’s influence grows, it is adding new ways to unite and inspire, including

Actress, author and activist Holly Robinson Peete delivered the keynote speech, “Service is the rent you pay for living.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO RECAP


Jean Chatzky

Thursday, April 10, 20149:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

ConocoPhillips OSU Alumni CenterStillwater Campus

For more information, please contact Deb Engle

at [email protected] or 405.385.5600.

Chatzky is the financial editor for NBC’s “Today Show,” eight-time

award-winning personal finance author, AARP’s personal finance

ambassador, host of “Money Matters with Jean Chatzky” on RLTV

and a dedicated personal finance educator. She serves on the

board of the Children’s Heart Foundation, Kelly Writers House

and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling as well as

being a member of the Trustees’ Council of Penn Women.

regional events. The first three were held in Dallas, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, with more cities and dates in development.

Houston Prawl encourages anyone who loves the university to consider attending one of Women for OSU’s events.

“Oklahoma State has a mission of educating our students to go out and do greater good, improve

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE

VISIT OSUgiving.com/Women

the world and give back,” Houston Prawl says. “The land-grant culture of our university commands each graduate to do exactly that. My life is richer because I am involved with a group of women with high ideals, strong work ethics, moral principles, and who are also a lot of fun.”

Attendees enjoyed the annual event’s inspirational discussions about leadership and philanthropy.

The five Student Philanthropists of the Year were surprised with $5,000 scholarships.


It often takes many years for fundraising campaigns to really impact an organization, but Branding Success: The Campaign for Oklahoma State University is making a significant difference for OSU students and faculty now.

In 2010, Don (’71 industrial engineering) and Cathey Humphreys made a $6 million gift to the university to enable students to study abroad and provide study abroad professorships for faculty. Combined with matches from the T. Boone Pickens Legacy Scholarship fund and the Oklahoma State Legislature, the total impact of the gift will be $15 million.

One of the most recent groups of students to benefit from the Humphreys’ generous gift studied at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England, during spring 2012. All of them say the experience changed their lives.

“It changes how you perceive the world,” says Monica Mitchell, who is majoring in marketing in the Spears School of Business. “All the people we live with are from different countries.”

Kaley Uptergrove is majoring in marketing and management. She chose the University of Hertfordshire partly because of its proximity to London and the 2012 Summer Olympics. When London was awarded the games more than eight years ago, Hertfordshire began developing courses focused on how the Olympics are organized.

“All my classes were related in some way to the Olympics,” says Uptergrove. “Studying abroad has opened my eyes to a worldly perspective and has allowed me to focus on my passion, which is Olympic work.”

In addition to studying in a location dramatically different than Stillwater, the students say being able to travel to nearby European countries on weekends or during breaks added to the study abroad experience.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I respond to situations,” says Kate Caudill, who was majoring in sociology and graduated in December. “It was something I wanted to do since beginning college.”

Study abroad scholarships createlife-changing experiences for students


The students’ recent experiences and stories told by other recipients of the scholarship please the Humphreys, who made the gift in the hope that longer study abroad opportunities would be more enlightening than just a week or two outside of students’ native country. Recently, the couple met some of the students benefitting from their gift.

“It was heartwarming for us to see how these experiences are opening their eyes to the world,” says Don Humphreys.

“Before receiving the Humphreys’ gift, my entire trip was still up in the air because of its cost,” Caudill says. “The Humphreys’ award guaranteed that I would be able to have this opportunity.”

To learn more about how you can make a

difference in the lives of OSU students, visit OSUgiving.com.

OSU students at the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield, England

CLICK HERE TO WATCH VIDEO


PARKER SHULTZ made strong connections to Oklahoma State his freshman year through a new scholars program meant to guide students to become ethical leaders. He was one of 37 students included in the first class of the McKnight Leader Scholars Program, which included a scholarship and enrollment in Introduction to Leadership courses.

While the scholarship helped solidify his choice to come to OSU, his involvement in the program provided benefits beyond financial aid.

“This scholarship and this group of people have really gotten me involved on campus and allowed me to meet some really great people,” says Shultz, a Wichita Falls, Texas, finance junior. “It was an important part of my freshman year.”

Now rooming with two of his fellow McKnight Scholars, the experiences and friendships he made in the program are sure to be long-lasting.

Launched in the fall of 2011, the program aims to develop the type of leaders that society needs while also creating a community of leader scholars at OSU, said Dr. Steve Harrist, director of the McKnight Leader Scholars Program.

“We want students to understand they have the ability to become leaders in their own life,” he says. “Sometimes there’s a difficult transition to

college, and students don’t feel ready to take on the mantle of leadership. We want them to have a sense of their own capability in that regard.”

The program was created and endowed with a $10 million gift made by Oklahoma State alumni Ross and Billie McKnight and will eventually be matched 2:1 through an estate gift by T. Boone Pickens. The McKnights, who chair the ongoing $1 billion campaign for OSU, announced plans for their gift at a Branding Success event in 2010.

“We are both grateful to Oklahoma State and fondly remember the faculty and administration who took an interest in us and challenged us to be more than we thought we could be,” Ross McKnight said at the 2010 event. “This gift reflects our appreciation to OSU and our desire to help students from rural communities attend Oklahoma State, where we are confident they will discover a path to success as we did.”

The program provides its scholars a full out-of-state tuition waiver for four years and a $5,000 scholarship for their first two years at OSU. Scholars are enrolled in fall and spring leadership courses and participate in a field experience during a retreat over fall break at a team-building ranch during their freshman year. Students, who are chosen according to leadership and extracurricular activities, are all from out of state.

New Scholarship Program Builds Future Leaders

IMPACTUPDATE


“We believe that if students become ethical leaders they will have a tremendous positive impact on our society in the long term,” Harrist says. In 2012, the class of scholars included 44 students.

Harrist says he has a three-step approach to help students develop as ethical leaders, which includes introducing students to theories of leadership and ethics, experiential learning at a three-day field experience, and real-world application of ethical leadership concepts and skills in a service-learning project.

Students in the inaugural class said the retreat during fall break was a turning point in the program.

“It was a whole new environment” after the field experience, says Sara Slabbekoorn, a Monument, Colo., microbiology and pre-med junior. “Students were more comfortable with each other and changed the dynamics in the classroom to a more collaborative atmosphere.”

Harrist says the field experience and group work on a service-learning project allowed students to grow friendships he hoped would be enduring.

“The field experience was deliberately designed to help create these relationships … Students work together in teams to overcome challenges and difficulties,” he says. “We also talk explicitly about the idea — from Aristotle’s virtue ethics — that friends are integral to living a good life and developing as virtuous people and ethical leaders.”

Schultz says the experience taught him that you can learn a lot from other people.

“Everyone’s different, and that’s one of the things I’ve gotten most out of the program,” he says.

“There’s not just one right way to lead.”

Erin Scanlan, a management and marketing junior from Portales, N.M., says working with Harrist and participating in the program motivated her to do her best while at OSU.

“Being able to work with and under Dr. Harrist — with the other McKnight Scholars — has been a huge blessing,” she says. “He’s a great leader and has really made me strive for excellence in every aspect of school, whether that’s working on campus or being a leader of my sorority house.”

“This scholarship and

this group of people

have really gotten me

involved on campus

and allowed me to

meet some really

great people.”

- PARKER SHULTZ

TO READ ABOUT THE NEW 2013 CLASS OF MCKNIGHT LEADER SCHOLARS, VISIT:

OSUGIVING.COM/2013MCKNIGHTSCHOLARS

Branding Success: The Campaign for Oklahoma State University has attracted record support to the university. Thanks to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Scholarship Advisement Program (SAP)’s partnership with OSU, the impact is providing even more opportunities for students.

The Choctaw Nation SAP donated $350,000 to endow scholarships and

graduate fellowships at Oklahoma State University. After a boost from the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, the gift will have a total impact of $1.05 million in endowed funds, allowing more students to afford a quality education.

THANKYOU

2013 branding success newsletter

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