JOHNSON CITY -- Once again, the East Tennessee State University Foundation leads the Tennessee Board of Regents system in private giving, Foundation members learned today in their annual meeting.
“For the past five years, the ETSU Foundation has held onto the leadership position in private giving among the six four-year universities in our governing system, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation,” said Foundation President Stuart E. Wood Jr. “We are very pleased that with the leadership of ETSU President Paul E. Stanton Jr. the university has raised in excess of $24.7 million in the past three years through the Foundation in support of scholarships, endowments and educational programs for our students. Foundation giving for 1999-2000 has exceeded $5.5 million. Including private gifts and contracts, the total received is in excess of $11 million.”
Wood also reported that pledges for ETSU’s Challenge 2000 program are in excess of $688,000. Challenge 2000 is a campaign to create a new $2 million endowment for student scholarships.
ETSU Foundation endowments, including Chairs of Excellence, exceed $36 million as of March 31. In addition, the Foundation’s fund balance has increased to $42.6 million. In contrast, the Foundation’s fund balance in 1981 was less than $1 million.
During the meeting, the ETSU Foundation approved a resolution to provide 4.5 percent interest for scholarship awards from earnings on endowments held through the Foundation. The national average for public universities is approximately 4 percent. An additional 3 percent of earnings will be committed to the endowment principal to maintain the purchasing power of the endowment, with the remaining return placed in a reserve fund for future distribution.
Members were pleased to learn the Foundation received an “Unqualified Audit Report” for the 13th straight year, which means no items or procedures were found that need to be corrected or changed.
In his remarks to the membership, ETSU President Stanton commended the Foundation for awarding in excess of $814,000 in scholarships for 1999-2000. He also noted that the first four students have been selected for the Roan Scholars Leadership Program spearheaded by Louis H. Gump, president of Impact Management and founding contributor of the scholars program.
“The Roan Scholars Leadership Program is a truly unique endeavor in this state,” Stanton said. “We believe that this will encourage students who are already outstanding to hone their leadership skills and further develop their roles in the academic arena as well as the community as a whole. We appreciate Louis Gump’s vision and tenacity to bring this program to fruition in just three years. The four young women who start the inaugural class of Roan Scholars this fall are exemplary individuals.”
The Roan Scholars selected to start this fall are Carolyn Adelae “Addie” Estepp of Hampton High School, Julie Anne Harless of Sullivan Central High School, Heather Nicole Jones of Elizabethton High School, and Kristin Marie Truman of Science Hill High School.
Stanton added, “We commend the university’s dedicated faculty and staff who have given over $248,000 back to this institution in 1999-2000. This amounts to 34 percent of our full-time employees who support ETSU’s goals through monetary donations.”
He also noted that the faculty and staff at ETSU have given and pledged in excess of $1.7 million to the ETSU Tomorrow campaign which is now in its public phase. The silent phase started July 1, 1997, and the campaign officially ends June 30, 2002. At present, 82.5 percent, or $33 million, of the $40 million goal has been reached.
Foundation President Wood also thanked the benefactors of new scholarships, awards and endowments established since July 1, 1999, and noted that ETSU currently has 242 endowments. These newest funds include: Pete Ragan Survey Scholarship; Tommy Deakins Scholarship Endowment; General Shale Products Corporation Scholarship; Russian-Eurasian Scholarship; Project AIM (Adults In Motion); Associates Commerce Solutions Leadership Scholarship Endowment; ETSU Physicians and Associates Resident Education Scholarship; Rush W. and Celma Davis Murphy Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Ms. Robert Lee Gilmer Memorial Nursing Scholarship Endowment; Carol G. Ferguson Scholarship Endowment; William M. “Mac” Hensley Scholarship Endowment; George S. Brown Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Jeffrey Lynn Hightower Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Dr. Albert S. Yates Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Greene County/Greeneville Scholarship Endowment; Human Performance Lab Fund; Kevin Wayne Bunn Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Floyd A. Branam Memorial Scholarship Endowment; John H. Poteat Banking Endowment; James Michael Mitchell Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Dr. William Kincaid Scholarship; John Foster Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Louise Whitson Memorial Homeless Clinic Endowment; McInturff Endowment; Charles F. Wilkey Mathematics Scholarship Endowment; Calvin Lee Justis Jr. Memorial Scholarship Endowment; Edward D. Jones Investments Scholarship; Veterans Affairs Memorial Theatre Renovation; and Kenneth and Sarah Simonds Women’s Golf Scholarship.
Dr. Richard A. Manahan, executive vice president of the Foundation and ETSU vice president for university advancement, stated, “The ETSU Foundation continues to provide the Margin of Excellence. This margin is defined as the extension of private financial support for students and the educational mission beyond the realms of state and federal funding. No university can become truly distinctive without private support.”