Capital Campaign - Newsletter

Staying connected with cmu
and Mount Pleasant

A son's family scholarship honors Jack and Patricia Anson

Todd Anson, ’77, and his wife, Teresa, ‘74, have created an endowed scholarship in honor of Todd’s parents, longtime Mount Pleasant residents Jack and Patricia Anson.

Jack, ’50, worked many years as the assistant superintendent of schools in Mount Pleasant before his retirement. In 1982, he was selected Mount Pleasant Citizen of the Year. Patricia, ’47, worked to support Jack while he was attending CMU, and then put her energy full time toward raising their three sons, Todd, Tim, ’82, and Steven.

Jack and Patricia Anson Endowed Scholarship
“The scholarship serves to honor my parents, who have devoted their life to Mount Pleasant and to Central Michigan University,” Todd said.
The Jack and Patricia Anson Endowed Scholarship provides support for Mount Pleasant High School student-athletes to attend CMU. Todd said he wanted his father to stay connected with the youth and athletics through the scholarship.

“My father is able to weigh in on the selection of each year’s scholarship recipient,” he said. “This gives him a way to stay connected with the kids.”

CMU is a pretty special place for the Anson family. Jack, a native of Evansville, Indiana, came to Mount Pleasant in 1946 to attend CMU, following his World War II military service. During his first week on campus, he met Patricia and the couple was married only months later. Patricia, a native of Clare, graduated from CMU in 1947. She supported Jack until he finished his degree in 1950. The couple celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on May 17.

Jack is a very active member of the Mount Pleasant and CMU communities. Before retiring as assistant superintendent of Mount Pleasant schools, he taught elementary school, including sixth grade at the CMU Laboratory School. He was the first principal of Mary McGuire Elementary School.

His love of girls’ and boys’ athletics led to creating a Pony baseball league for 13-14 year olds and a Colt league for 15-16 year olds. In 1976, he officiated the opening and closing ceremonies of the International Special Olympics, which attracted 16,000 people to CMU’s campus. Even in retirement, Jack maintains numerous board positions in the community.

Jack and Patricia say they are honored by their son, Todd’s gift to endow this scholarship in their name. Like his parents, Todd has his own connections to CMU.

In addition to being a three-sport high school athlete and class valedictorian, Todd Anson played baseball for two years at CMU. After graduating summa cum laude from CMU, he earned a law degree from the University of Michigan, where he graduated magna cum laude.

West coast career
Todd moved to San Francisco and eventually became managing partner of the second largest law firm in California. From there, he was approached by one of his significant clients, Cisco Systems, to start an independent real estate development company, Cisterra Partners, LLC, to develop large-scale corporate campuses and research and development parks for Cisco around the world.

Todd today remains managing member of Cisterra Partners, LLC, which he co-founded in August 1999. The company currently is building an office tower at PETCO Park in San Diego – home of the San Diego Padres – which will be the first office tower that is part of the Major League Baseball stadium. Another of Todd’s latest endeavors is as founding investor in the Golden Baseball League in California and Arizona, which fulfills his and his father’s love of the sport.

Still at home in Mount Pleasant
In addition to their historic landmark home on Coronado Island, Todd and Teresa have built a log home in upstate Michigan as a family retreat and vacation site. Teresa is the daughter of Roger and Sally Cole of Mount Pleasant.

They have two sons, Christopher, who recently completed his freshman year at George Washington University, and Ryan, who will enter his last year of high school at Francis Parker School in San Diego.

Honoring a Journalism Pioneer

Event and scholarship celebrate accomplishments of the late Lem Tucker

Port Huron High School senior Kameel Stanley is committed to becoming a journalist who upholds excellence and the success of minorities in the media.

“In journalism especially, diversity is essential,” said Stanley, the 2005 Lem Tucker Journalism Scholarship recipient.

“Journalism is one of the primary tools that society has for communication and for that to be totally effective, a complete story must be told, and by every possible angle.”

Stanley spoke at Central Michigan University’s Ninth Annual Lem Tucker Speaker Series and Journalism Scholarship event held May 5 at the Atheneum Hotel in Detroit. Accomplished political reporter Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, was the evening’s keynote speaker.

A storied career
Nearly 400 people attended the event honoring the accomplishments of the late Lem Tucker as a broadcaster and CMU alumnus. Tucker was a Saginaw native who graduated from CMU in 1960 and became a pioneer in broadcast journalism for people of color. The two-time Emmy award winner worked for all three major television networks before his death in 1991.

The 2005 Lem Tucker Speaker Series and Journalism Scholarship event was presented by the CMU College of Communication and Fine Arts and sponsored by DaimlerChrysler. Event sponsors and other contributions support the Lem Tucker Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Since 1997, nine students have received four-year full scholarships to CMU from the Lem Tucker Scholarship Endowment Fund. Stanley will begin attending CMU this fall.

“Kameel Stanley is one of the most versatile students we’ve had apply to the Lem Tucker Scholarship,” said Sue Ann Martin, dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts. “Not only is she a journalist as the editor in chief of The Lighthouse, Port Huron High School’s student newspaper, but she also writes poetry. In fact, she wrote a piece of poetry in the car on her way to the event, and it was just beautiful.”

Achievable possibilities
In her keynote address, Ifill told the audience that politics should not be viewed as unimportant. Politics are at the core of major issues concerning society today, including gas prices, the war in Iraq, social security, and health care, she said, urging people to become more aware of how politics affects important issues.

“I am not cynical, but I am skeptical,” Ifill said. “Everything is politics.”

Similar to Lem Tucker, Ifill is a pioneer in the journalism profession.

During her introduction of the evening’s speakers, Martin read a quote from Ifill: “I am very conscious that there are very few people who look like me in this business … I am very aware that I am a ‘lonely only’ doing this, as far as black women hosting public affairs programming. But, I am not at all convinced that it has to be that way. I love and embrace being a role model … I am happy to give advice and ideas to students … that’s a huge part of my role and why I am here.”

Martin said, “That is a huge part of why we invited Gwen Ifill to be here tonight to celebrate the pioneering heritages of Lem Tucker and the achievable possibilities for minorities in journalism.”

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A Real Estate Gift

Bowens support real estate development program at CMU

The old adage, “success begets success” is more than a saying to CMU alumni Mike and Julie Bowen.

It is the outcome that the 1992 graduates intend to achieve by helping Central Michigan University develop a new program in real estate development.

The Spring Lake couple is providing the financial resources to create a professorship of real estate finance within the College of Business Administration. Their gift will provide funding to recruit an outstanding faculty member who will develop the newly created undergraduate program.
‘A top five industry worldwide’

Real estate development is an area of particular interest for Mike Bowen, who is the founder and CEO of Westwood Development Group, LLC, which specializes in developing open-air shopping centers nationwide. Project locations include sites in Michigan, Kansas City, Nebraska, Indiana, Arizona, Utah, and Florida.

The company currently has development projects totaling approximately $175 million, he said.

“There is a clear lacking of education for the development business, which I would suggest is a top five industry worldwide,” he said. “Many schools provide very limited programs or very narrow programs. We, and many other developers, train from the ground up, for the most part.”

Strong CMU connections
Most of the courses needed in real estate development already are in place at CMU. This new program would be tailored to the needs of real estate development.

“The program is going to provide students with knowledge and skills that will make them very marketable to the real estate industry,” said Dan Vetter, interim dean of the College of Business Administration. “The program will allow us to have strong industry connections with the real estate industry and put students in internships and in career positions. There aren’t many programs like it in the state or nation.”

Mike said he attributes the majority of his success to CMU. It was during this time that he met his wife, Julie, a student studying communication disorders who, like her future husband, worked as a residence hall assistant. It also was during Mike’s four years at CMU that he said his own drive for success was sparked.

After graduation, Mike launched his career in banking as a commercial loan officer, based on the recommendation of Professor Rose Prasad. This was great advice, Mike said. “Banking is great training for many other avenues of life.” From there he worked for an REIT (publicly traded real estate investment trust) before starting his own business in 1998. Julie is involved in the decision making of the business with her husband. In addition to being a full-time mother to their two sons, Joey, 7, and Jake, 5, she also is very active in numerous voluntary activities and serves on their children’s school advisory board.

“It was at CMU that I realized how competitive the world is, and I was going to have to work hard to get up to speed,” Mike said. “CMU has a clear path to success for anyone willing to step up and take the challenge.”

Generous scholarship donors provided these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for Central Michigan University students.

Scholarship recipients were able to thank their scholarship donors at the 2005 Scholarship and Endowment Luncheon April 2 at the Comfort Inn Conference Center in Mount Pleasant. The annual event also celebrates the accomplishments of the scholarship recipients.

• Zachary Bock of Fox Lake, Illinois, recipient of the John G. Kulhavi Scholarship and the Colonel William B. Nolde Scholarship

• Katherine Klein of Sparta, recipient of the Fay and Genevieve Barhitte Outstanding Student Award

Dr. Eugene H. McKay, III, ’82, was this year’s featured scholarship donor speaker. He established the Business Student Endowed Scholarship.

Donors have helped to establish 466 endowments for a total endowment in excess of $58 million. An additional 91 scholarships are perpetuated through annual gifts. This year, more than 400 students have merited financial assistance through CMU’s privately funded scholarship program, said Michael Leto, vice president of Development & Alumni Relations.

Benefits exemplified
Bock said his award, which is designated for students in the ROTC program, provided full tuition support for three years. He said this support gave him the freedom to focus on more than academics, adding that he made a positive difference as an Emmons Hall Resident Assistant.

“With this scholarship, I was motivated and determined to be a positive catalyst for others,” Bock said. “In this way, I have shared the benefits of this scholarship with many others than just myself.”

Klein performed her student teaching in Ghana, West Africa, an opportunity she attributes directly to receiving a scholarship.

“I am very blessed and lucky to have been able to reach my goals and dreams of teaching AIDS education in Africa, but it wouldn’t have been a possibility without my scholarship,” she said.

A full Centralis Scholar Award enabled Bennett to study abroad in Australia, where she hiked the Outback, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, attended an opera at the Sydney Opera House, and held a koala in Northern Queensland. Because of her scholarship, Bennett said her parents were able to use the college fund they set aside to pay her living expenses while she interned for the summer at CNN in Atlanta.

“Although I’ve learned many things here, through my scholarship I’ve learned the importance of giving back,” Bennett said. “I hope that I have the same privilege someday to make a contribution like you have to CMU.”

Crooks establishes elementary education endowed scholarship

Two significant influences brought Dorothy Galloway Crooks, ’54, from her native Grosse Ile home to Central Michigan University to become a teacher.

One of those influences was a teacher who mentored and guided her. The second was a scholarship that made her CMU education possible.

Crooks, who lives in Trenton and is retired after teaching second grade for many years, is passing her gifts on to other CMU students who are choosing a similar path. She has established the Dorothy L. Galloway Crooks Elementary Education Endowed Scholarship to support elementary education juniors and seniors.

"This wonderful gift from Mrs. Crooks is just another example of the amazing generosity we see in our alumni," says Karen Adams, Dean of the College of Education and Human Services. "We are so grateful for the continued support they give us. I have never been at any institution with such loyal and enthusiastic alumni."

Positive influence
Crooks said she chose to attend CMU to earn a teaching degree through the encouragement of a teacher, Margaret C. Allan, who is a 1940 graduate of what then was Central State Teachers College.

Crooks said that as a high school student, instead of going to study hall, she would go over to the elementary school and work as an aid for Allan, the second grade classroom teacher.

“Before long, I had my own reading and math group,” Crooks said. “I was doing hands-on teaching before I even attended college. That is when I discovered, I want to teach.”

Allan always spoke highly of her alma mater and encouraged Crooks to consider going there to be a teacher as well.

Relationship continues
Leaving Grosse Ile on the Detroit River and attending college in the middle part of the state was a new adventure for her, Crooks said. While a student, she became a charter member of the Delta Zeta sorority, which was established in 1953.

The student-teacher relationship didn’t end when Crooks moved to Mount Pleasant. She performed her student teaching under Allan, who had since moved to Trenton. Following graduation, Crooks landed a teaching position in the Trenton school district, this time working as one of Allan’s peers.

“I was fortunate to have a mentor teacher who was a CMU graduate,” Crooks said. “Now, I want to offer that to other students. It is time to give back to those who had been so helpful to me.”

"Mrs. Crooks is not only incredibly generous, she's also a very wise donor," says Cindy Hales, Director of Development for the College of Education and Human Services. "We worked closely together throughout the process to assure we were meeting her philanthropic interests. It has been a complete pleasure for me."

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A College of Business Administration program that helps people with disabilities develop and launch businesses will be able to expand its service range to Michigan’s west side, thanks to a grant from Comerica.

The program, launched four years ago with a four-year innovation and expansion grant from the Michigan Rehabilitation Services agency (MRS), allowed CBA’s Labelle Entrepreneurial Center to develop a highly successful model for providing consulting and business technical services to MRS customers. Their customers have included a range of business people, from architects to manufacturers, daycare providers, and even a magician.

“Comerica’s generous support has been absolutely critical in sustaining the program we’ve built over the past four years,” said LaBelle Center’s associate director Mike Vuillemot. “Their $25,000 grant this year was the only reason we were able to secure the $125,000 in federal and other dollars that allowed us to continue.”

Comerica’s funding gives the LaBelle Center the opportunity to expand services beyond the mid-Michigan district to include MRS’s Grand Rapids and West-Central districts – more than doubling the program’s range.

“Our partnership with CMU is a perfect fit for Comerica because the gift supports two areas we are deeply committed to – education and entrepreneurship,” said Caroline Chambers, Comerica vice president and contributions manager. “Entrepreneurship drives economic growth in our state and nation and, as Michigan’s oldest and largest bank, we are happy to do our part to help develop the next generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners.”

About the New Vision of Excellence Campaign

A New Vision of Excellence is the most ambitious fund-raising initiative in Central Michigan University history. This $50-million campaign draws a vision for the university's future brought into focus through the successes of its proud past.

This campaign will:

The opportunity to reach CMU's potential in each of these four important areas has inspired an unreserved belief that CMU's traditional strengths comprehensive undergraduate education and niche-area applied graduate programs provide an outstanding impetus and foundation for visionary progress at this moment in the university's history.

Student Scholarships - $8 million

CMU will invest in talented and diverse students by offering merit- and need-based scholarships and financial aid, providing a stimulating learning environment, heightening academic standards, and sponsoring extracurricular opportunities investments that help students to think critically and prepare for leadership in their professions and communities.

Faculty and Program Endowment - $4 million

New faculty endowments and other forms of support will encourage applied research, scholarship, and creativity at all levels of learning among students and faculty. CMU will invigorate classroom experiences at the undergraduate and graduate levels and develop new research and community service centers that strengthen Michigan's economy and communities.

Enhanced Campus Environment - $20 million

CMU's building, technology, and equipment goals are ambitious and pragmatic. Academic and research excellence will be fully supported by providing an enhanced learning environment featuring the advanced technology and facilities required for higher education in the twenty-first century.

Ongoing and Special Programs - $18 million

Annual and special program support helps fund seminars and workshops, new outreach centers, classroom equipment, and many other resources that support CMU's historic academic mission and New Vision of Excellence.