USU’s Great in the Basin
The Uintah Basin campus of Utah State University is growing by leaps and bounds.  Less than two years ago, the university proudly accepted a gift of land from Robert Williams.  Earlier this fall, the university celebrated the $15 million-gift from Marc and Debbie Bingham which will build the Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center on the campus. At the gift announcement lunch in Vernal, the Binghams both talked about the challenges and successes in building their business, their sense of community and their dedication to giving back.

The new Entrepreneurship and Energy Research Center will help Utah, the region and the nation develop energy resources more efficiently by enabling teams of professionals from key disciplines to work together with government, business and community partners to create synergistic solutions and to foster entrepreneurship. Construction will begin in 2008 and the building will be ready for use in 2009.  The community has embraced the new campus and the opportunities it will present for students and community members alike.

The Next Critical Step
The success of The Campaign for Utah State University will be defined, in part, by an increase in the size and value of the endowment. Universities manage endowments to sustain scholarship, fellowships and professorships over lifetimes. The legacy of a named endowment becomes a part of the fabric of a university. Having scholarship dollars available for students is one of the keys to bringing the most qualified students into higher education regardless of their financial circumstances.  Creating an endowment allows that scholarship to live on in perpetuity.

Scholarships and fellowships are key to offering the most qualified students the advantage of higher education regardless of their financial circumstances. An endowed scholarship helps generations of students achieve their educational dreams. Similarly, endowed faculty positions establish a demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching.

In a recent address during Old Main Weekend, President Stan L. Albrecht said, “Our successes in attracting support for bricks and mortar and program development and enhancement must now be bolstered by efforts to grow our endowment base. In announcing The Campaign, we focused on three areas – places, programs and people. The first two are doing well; the third must do better.”

As Utah State University moves into the final two years of The Campaign, it will focus more on the endowment aspect of its success.
 

Blue For You: Rollouts Take Campaign on the Road
Following the announcement of the public phase of the The Campaign for Utah State University at a spectacular Founder’s Day dinner last March, President Albrecht and members of the university advancement team launched an ambitious effort to take the excitement and energy of that evening to our alumni and friends across the country. These events, which ranged from a large hotel style gathering in Washington, DC, to an intimate home setting in Chicago, gave alumni and friends the opportunity to hear firsthand the hopes and ambitions for this campaign, the first comprehensive campaign in the history of Utah State. It was an opportunity for Utah State to reconnect with graduates and for friends and alumni to come together, meet one another, and share their collective experience.

“At each stop in our campaign rollout, we asked our alumni and friends to move from ‘I wish,’ to ‘I will.’ They are responding,” said Albrecht.

In addition to Washington and Chicago, events were held in Phoenix; Las Vegas; San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; Denver and
New York.

Speaking of the Campaign
At this fall’s Old Main Society banquet, President Albrecht shared the following thoughts on Honoring Tradition, Securing our Future: The Campaign for Utah State University.

“Our research tells us that almost 50 percent of the students who leave the university before completing their degrees, leave for financial reasons.  Sometimes it would only take $300 or $500 to keep them here to complete their degrees.  Retention scholarship programs, such as that supported by Dell Loy ’82 and Lynnette Hansen ’73, and by Foundation Board members who are contributing to the President’s Circle, play a critical role. A modest shift of focus in our campaign to help those who must have our help if they are to realize the dream of a college education will pay substantial dividends.”

“I must note that our state leaders are recognizing the good things happening here and are investing in us. We now have three USTAR teams in place in nutrition; active sensing and imaging; and biofuels. We have proposed a fourth research focus in high-flux neutron generation. These teams are doing the research that will result in an enormous boost to Utah’s economy over the next few years. We are grateful to the state for that important investment, just as we are grateful for the investment that is being made in our regional campuses, our partnerships with other institutions of higher education and our campus infrastructure. Combined with the success of our campaign, this will allow us to continue to build excellence at Utah State University.”
—President Stan L. Albrecht

HISTORIC IMPACT
The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University became a reality on December 3, 2007 (while this issue of Utah State Magazine was headed to the press) when President Stan L. Albrecht announced the university’s largest gift ever, a $26 million boost from Utah philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman Sr., and his wife Karen. In the next issue of the magazine, we’ll detail this gift’s historic impact and how it immediately places Utah State University in the national and international spotlight.

In the next few months, USU will have the honor of announcing several other significant gifts. For the latest information as it becomes publicly available, check The Campaign website, http://www.usu.edu/campaign/.