Campaign update:

THE CAMPAIGN FOR UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY

Giving as a Habit

When Marie Veibell graduated from Utah State University in 1947, the campus had 29 buildings and 4,068 students, up from 920 in 1944 during World War II. During the last 61 years, USU has seen tremendous growth in these areas. Today there are nearly 200 buildings and more than 23,000 students and Veibell has enjoyed playing a small part in this growth.

“People need a little help sometimes, and if you can help one person then they can help somebody else and it's a great cycle,” she said. “I started giving just a little bit to Utah State a few years after I graduated, once I'd had time to get established, and I've given every year since.”

Veibell enjoys reading about USU in the newspapers and seeing how it has grown and remains fascinated by the research its students and faculty are doing.

“I give to help the university build itself up and offer more to its students and to the world”

—Marie Veibell

“I give to help the university build itself up and offer more to its students and to the world,” Veibell said. “It can't grow without money, and it takes donations from a lot of people to make a difference.”

The vice president for university advancement, Ross Peterson, agrees.

“The heart of donating at Utah State is the consistent annual gifts from alumni and friends that add up to make a big difference for individual departments and for students,” Peterson said. “We appreciate their willingness to give back to help the university become a place where students can earn scholarships, work with renowned professors and learn in state-of-the-art facilities.”

Veibell graduated with a degree in chemistry and worked for 41 years as the laboratory manager at Logan Regional Hospital until she retired in 1990.

–Annalisa Fox

Old Main Society Celebrates Service, Philanthropy

Close to 400 members of Utah State University's Old Main Society gathered at the Old Main Society dinner Friday, Sept. 12, as the university inducted new members and honored some of its most important supporters.

As part of the Old Main Weekend, the university bestowed its most prestigious award, the Spirit of Old Main Award for lifetime achievements and loyalty to the university. This year's recipients were Sunny and Hardy Redd, ranchers in southeastern Utah, celebrated for their dedication to service, visionary philanthropy and influence on the state of Utah and USU.

USU also bestowed a new honor, the first Spirit of Old Main New Generation Award. The inaugural recipients, were Bountiful, Utah, residents Mark and Wendi Holland, who were recognized for their many contributions to USU, their tireless service to the state and their commitment to the success of small businesses.

The Old Main Society was established in 1967 to recognize alumni and friends whose support makes possible the fulfillment of Utah State's mission. Membership represents the pinnacle of recognition for those who express their belief in the institution through significant philanthropic support. For more information, visit http://www.usu.edu/advancement/recognition/oldmain/

Campaign Continues:

Goal Now at $400 Million

Utah State University's alumni and friends had many moments to get comfortable with the word “celebration” on Aug. 6 in Salt Lake City as President Stan L. Albrecht brought cheers again and again by announcing one comprehensive campaign success after another to a packed hall of supporters.

First the president announced that the university would double the campaign goal from $200 million to $400 million. He followed that news by then listing a steady stream of previously unannounced major gifts.

“Our announcement this evening is much more than just stating that we are extending our reach,” the president told about 500 supporters at the Depot in Salt Lake City. “We are also announcing a series of gifts that has been received since our Founders Day event in March. These gifts anchor the second half of the campaign and get us off to a rousing start.”

The university announced in March at Founders Day that it had exceeded its initial $200 million goal only one year after the announcement of the campaign's public phase. The campaign was scheduled to continue through Dec. 31, 2010, but Albrecht told the crowd that the university would extend the closing date until July 2012.

The new gifts include $5 million from Dell Loy and Lynnette Hansen. Among other things, the Hansen gift includes support for retention scholarships that allow USU to help students stay in school and complete their education rather than drop out for economic reasons.

The gifts include an additional $3.2 million from David and Diann Sant. These funds are on top of their earlier gifts that allowed USU to complete the Sant Engineering Innovation Building this summer. The Sant gifts provide unique leveraging opportunities to create partnerships with industry.

The new gifts also include an additional commitment from Jim and Carol Laub after whom the the new athletic-academic complex in Romney Stadium has been named. The project summarizes the Aggie spirit in an amazing way ý more than 400 donors contributed financially to the project, over 200 individuals volunteered their time, and the project received an amazing $750,000 in contractor discounts and in-kind labor.

The gifts include a $1.5 million gift from Anadarko to USU's regional campus in the Uintah Basin, a half-million dollar gift to Business and Sociology from Korean businessman Young Chul Hong, and new scholarship and other support endowments from Spencer and Melanie Raymond, Fred and Sharon Hunsaker, Dennis and Rebecca Funk, Tim and Marcia Stewart, Eugene and Jeanine Hansen, Alan and Jeannie Hall. It includes gifts to USU's athletic program from John Forzani, Kevin Curtis and Chris Cooley. And it includes an anonymous $1 million dollar commitment from a member of the university faculty.

Ross Peterson, vice president for advancement, said the SLC event was an exciting opportunity for the 50,000 USU alumni along the Wasatch Front to express their “Aggie pride,” and they didn't miss the chance as the hall filled to standing-room-only.

“There was electricity, enthusiasm and pride about the entire evening as people reconnected with their university,” Peterson said. “They had the chance to meet our best students, our great professors and to talk to other people who lived that same great Utah State experience.”

Albrecht also announced a new scholarship endowment designed to help decrease the number of people who are denied access to college for economic reasons. The Aggie Promise Scholarship Endowment will provide $1,000 in need-based aid to first generation and other students with limited economic means.

–Tim Vitale '92