MSU Exceeds Campaign Goal
- Tweet
Photo Provided by Brandy Gossin
From An Edited Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Our Promise: The Campaign for Missouri State University, ended the same way it began - with a major gift. Missouri State University announced 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'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."
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.