RSU Announces Fundraising Campaign for Endowed Chairs

A campaign to raise $5 million for 10 endowed faculty chair positions has been announced by Rogers State University.

“The Campaign for Endowed Chairs,” was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at a meeting of the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents. The OU Regents – RSU’s governing board – met at the Schusterman Center on the OU-Tulsa campus.

The goal of the campaign is to raise $2.5 million in private funds, which will be matched by the Endowment Trust Fund of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for a total of $5 million.

The private contributions and state regents matching funds will establish the principal of the endowments. The principal will remain intact while interest on the endowments will be utilized to recruit and retain nationally recognized professors.

“The Campaign for Endowed Chairs is a major step in enhancing the academic quality of RSU,” said RSU President Joe Wiley. “The campaign will provide funds to attract 10 distinguished professors to the RSU campus.”

John Cary of Claremore is the chairman of the RSU Foundation’s major gifts committee. Cary was present at the OU Regents meeting to present the details of the campaign on behalf of the Foundation Board of Directors.

“The establishment of the initial three endowed faculty chairs places RSU among the top three regional universities in Oklahoma in terms of the number of endowed chairs,” Wiley said. “This is a major accomplishment, especially considering that it occurred in RSU’s inaugural year as a four-year institution.”

The first three endowed chairs include the Greg Kunz Endowed Chair in Communications, the Sarkeys Endowed Chair in Business Information Technology and the John W. Norman Endowed Chair in Business Information Technology.

“The presence of top scholars is a cornerstone of enhancing the academic experience for our students,” he added. “These scholars will be prominent in their fields. Not only will they have stellar research credentials, but they will be highly regarded teachers as well.”

Companies, foundations, individuals or a combination of entities may contribute toward the establishment of an endowed chair, according to Danette Boyle, RSU’s vice president for development. The endowed chairs may be named in honor or memory of an individual, company or foundation.

A variety of giving methods are available, including cash gifts or pledges, securities, gifts of property, and planned gifts, she said. In addition, many corporations and other organizations match their employees’ contributions through matching gift programs.

For more information, call the RSU Foundation at (918) 343-7773.