A New Vision of Excellence
Campaign $50 million goal surpassed
Many needs unmet
Central Michigan University has raised
$52.7 million as of November 30, 2004, surpassing its history-making
$50 million goal for the New Vision of Excellence Campaign.
The campaign concludes December 31, 2006.
Roger Kesseler, chair of the campaign committee and university
trustee, made the announcement in the January 6, 2005, Board of
Trustees meeting. He said, “We are proud and grateful that so many
alumni and friends are generously helping CMU achieve a new level of
academic excellence and national prominence.”
The remaining two years of the campaign will be important to
fulfilling the many remaining unmet needs of the university,
Kesseler said.
“Although we have achieved our general campaign goal, there are
still many unmet needs and the campaign will continue until its
scheduled conclusion in 2006.” These needs total $120 million.
According to Mike Leto, CMU vice president for development and
alumni relations, “The campaign progress to date is a great success
for CMU and the many volunteers and donors involved. The ultimate
goal for the campaign is to meet all of the individual college and
program goals. Only two of ten college and division goals have been
met and only six of thirty-two program area goals have been met to
date. Clearly, there is a lot yet to do, and we want all alumni and
friends to have an opportunity to participate.”
All campaign committees and volunteers are expected to remain active
through the end of the campaign, Leto said.
“The preliminary success of the campaign is making a real difference
in the life of the university, the education of students, support
for my faculty colleagues and service to the communities the
university serves. Moving forward, a priority must be placed on
increasing endowment for scholarships and also for endowed chairs,
professorships and lectureships. We must build on the great
strengths that the university has already built and strengthen
further our commitment to academic excellence with the strongest
possible professors and students,” said Michael Rao, CMU’s
president.
The New Vision of Excellence Campaign is CMU’s first comprehensive
capital campaign. The public phase of the campaign began on
September 13, 2003, seeking support for student scholarships,
faculty and program endowment, an enhanced campus environment, and
ongoing and special programs.
Campaign funds will strengthen and enhance university initiatives
and do not replace other university sources of revenue used for
ongoing operating expenses.
Endowed faculty chairs and professorships, along with scholarships,
will be a high priority in the two years remaining in the campaign.
All campaign committees and volunteers will remain active through
the New Vision of Excellence Campaign’s conclusion, according to
campaign leaders.
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Riecker Gift Creates Schoolhouse Literary Series
A turn-of-the-century, one room school house on the Central Michigan
University campus will be the location of future literary readings
and performances thanks to a major gift from Midland residents John
and Margaret Ann “Ranny” Riecker.
The Rieckers, long-time supporters of CMU known for their civic and
philanthropic efforts, have donated $108,500 to the New Vision of
Excellence campaign for the creation of the “Riecker Schoolhouse
Literary Series and Educational Outreach Fund.”
A portion of the gift
will be used for improvements to the Gerald L.
Poor School Museum, a historical one-room school house maintained by
CMU as a memorial to rural education. Built in 1901 in Jasper
Township near Midland and known as Bohannon School, the one-room
school house features desks, inkwells, McGuffey Readers, a
pot-bellied stove reminiscent of the early 20th century.
The school
was moved to the CMU campus in 1970 and sits near the railroad
tracks on
Preston Street.
“The Riecker Schoolhouse Literary Series will present one readers’
theater productions in the 2005-06 academic year based on an
American author from the late 19th and early 20th centuries,” said
Sue Ann Martin, dean of CMU’s College of Communication and Fine
Arts. “We hope to engage the public and school children, through
performances and outreach initiatives, with the beauty of language.
At the same time, we plan to honor the literary heritage of this
country.
“The Rieckers’ generous gift will enable the College of
Communication and Fine Arts to celebrate the art of the spoken word
in a historic setting that gently reminds us all of the university’s
heritage as an excellent teacher training institution,” she said.
John and Ranny Riecker have a history of involvement with CMU. John
served as chairman of the fundraising committee for the Applied
Business Studies Complex and is a past member of the CMU Development
Board. Ranny was appointed to the CMU Board of Trustees in 1974 and
served 18 years.
“We love the old schoolhouse,” said John Riecker. “Today, there are
so many new theaters with 1,000 and 2,000 seats being built, but
this is going in the other direction. This is a small, intimate
schoolhouse theater, with old windows, creaky floor and romantic
ties to the past. We hope to make the schoolhouse a place to go on a
brisk fall evening to hear poetry or watch a one-act play, or listen
to stories by Hemingway, Frost and other American authors.”
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Kulhavi Gift establishes endowed CHSBS faculty professorship
The John G. Kulhavi Professorship in Neuroscience has its first
chair holder.
GaryShapiro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and
Behavioral Sciences, announced in October 2004 that Psychology
Professor Gary Dunbar, whose neuroscience research has earned
international acclaim, will serve as the first chair.
The professorship was made possible through a major gift from
Central Michigan University trustee and alumnus John G. Kulhavi,
’65. This professorship will ensure that generations of psychology
students learn from a top-notch neuroscientist.
The John G. Kulhavi Professorship in Neuroscience will help
strengthen CMU’s neuroscience program and the Brain Research and
Integrative Neuroscience Center, said Gary Shapiro, dean of the
College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
“We are extremely grateful to John Kulhavi for his gift to our
program. He is a wonderful supporter of Central Michigan
University,” Shapiro said. “This is further proof that we have a
high-caliber neuroscience program that’s being recognized not only
internally, but externally, by donors and friends.”
Michael Leto, CMU’s vice president of development and alumni
relations, said faculty endowed positions are important because of
what they mean to students.
“An endowment provides additional funding to help attract and retain
top-notch faculty and give students access to leaders in the field,”
he said
The new professorship will provide funding to the psychology
department to support neuroscience research and student learning in
the neuroscience area.
The gift supports CMU’s New Vision of Excellence campaign to raise
$50 million. The university’s first comprehensive capital campaign
is raising funds to invest in scholarships, faculty research,
facilities, and other programs.
After hearing of the ongoing research in the psychology department,
particularly concerning cures for neurodegenerative diseases like
Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, Kulhavi said he felt his
gift could impact a lot of people.
“I am very impressed with the work that Dr. Dunbar and his staff are
doing,” Kulhavi said. “With additional funding, hopefully the
department can have even greater breakthroughs. There are a large
number of people that the research could benefit.”
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Lectureship ensures Johnson
family's legacy at cMu
Timothy Johnson, M.D., with his family’s support,
has established an endowment to honor his father and grandfather, as
well as his family’s long tradition of CMU teacher education
graduates.
The T.R. Johnson Endowed Lectureship is named for Dr.
Johnson’s
father, Timothy Robert
Johnson, and his grandfather, Timothy Raymond
(T. Ray) Johnson. The endowment funds a lectureship within the
College of Education and Human Services.
“We have a strong family connection to CMU and also to education and
the teaching of teachers,” Dr. Johnson said. “My mother and father
were both teachers, and there are a lot of teachers in the family.
We wanted to do something for Central and something in the area of
teacher education.”
A family effort
Dr. Johnson’s parents, Timothy Robert and Myra (Thon) Johnson,
both graduated from Central in 1940 with a degree in teacher
education. In addition, Dr. Johnson had seven aunts and uncles who
attended CMU.
The endowment was a family effort, said Dr. Johnson, whose sister,
Myra Johnson Haney, also followed in their parents’ footsteps and
became a teacher.
“We all have a deep love for education,” Johnson Haney said. “My
mother was a teacher for many, many years and had always encouraged
me to get into the field because she loved it.”
The three generations of Johnson men also share the distinction of
receiving honorary degrees from CMU. T. Ray Johnson was awarded the
honorary Master of Industrial Administration in 1952, Timothy Robert
Johnson received the honorary Doctor of Public Service in 1967, and
Dr. Johnson received the honorary Doctor of Science in 2002.
As a student, Dr. Johnson’s father was president of the Student
Association and played for the basketball team. Following
graduation, he joined the Air Force and served during World War II.
Through his career as an Air Force Colonel, he served as head of the
Air Force ROTC at Superior State College. He also worked overseas as
an Air Force Attaché, bringing his family to live in countries such
as Yugoslavia and Sweden before moving to Arlington, Virginia, to
work at the Pentagon.
Dr. Johnson’s mother won the “Teacher of the Year” award from
Arlington Public Schools in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986, and she
received a Centennial Award from CMU in 1992 honoring her work in
education. She retired at the age of 75. The couple resides in
Arlington.
Lectureship brings nationally prominent speakers to campus
This year, the T.R. Johnson Endowed Lectureship sponsored a
lecture by nationally renowned psychologist Dr.
David Elkind, author of The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too
Fast Too Soon and professor of child
development at Tufts University.
Elkind is best known for his books The
Hurried Child, All Grown Up and No Place to Go and
Miseducation. He has been published in Psychology Today,
Good Housekeeping, and Parade, and he also has been
profiled in People and Boston Magazine. He was a
contributing editor to Parents Magazine, co-host of the
Lifetime television series, Kids These Days, and is past
president of the National Association for the Education of Young
Children.
“The T.R. Johnson Endowed Lectureship allows us to bring nationally
prominent speakers to campus,” said Dr. Karen Adams, Dean of the
College of Education and Human Services. “The widespread benefits of
topics such as why gifted children fail or rushing children and
adolescents into adulthood, are especially important for any of our
students who have an interest in working with children. We would
never be able to provide such well known speakers from our own
operating budgets.”
The Johnson family is pleased the endowment is
bringing quality speakers to campus.
“I was so very impressed that CMU was able to get Dr. David Elkind
as a speaker,” Johnson Haney said. “I have been a teacher for 23
years and his books have long interested me.”
The T.R. Johnson Endowed Lectureship will ensure that the Johnson
family legacy at CMU continues to benefit generations of teachers.
“With the generous support of people like Dr. Johnson and his
family, the College of Education and Human Services now has
a lasting source of funding to bring renowned professionals to
campus,” said Cindy Hales, director of development for the College
of Education and Human Services. “Because the principal of an
endowment is never spent, this gift exists in perpetuity and will
provide exceptional learning opportunities for many years to come.”
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Endowment income matching program
encourages faculty support
Endowed chairs and professorships – highly honored academic
positions that attract and retain distinguished faculty – are
vitally important priorities of A New Vision of Excellence Campaign.
So important, in fact, that CMU has launched the Faculty Endowment
Income Matching Program – a one-time initiative to encourage and
support donor investment in CMU’s faculty.
Through this program, CMU will match the annual endowment payout of
all gifts of at least $250,000 that are established to support
faculty endowment. Gifts of $500,000 or more will be matched 1:1.
Gifts of at least $250,000 will be matched 1:2.
Endowment funds are welcome at all levels of giving. However, to
qualify for the match, endowments for faculty support of at least
$250,000 must be pledged by December 31, 2006. The source of funds
for the match will be budgeted from the general fund and payouts
will be in perpetuity.
Faculty Endowment Matching Program Details
For example, the payout from a $500,000 endowment is $22,500 per
year (based on 4.5% of $500,000, the current CMU endowment spending
policy). If a gift is pledged by December 31, 2006, the match will
be 1:1 on this principal amount ($500,000) in perpetuity.
Therefore, the endowment established will not only provide $22,500,
but an additional $22,500 in funding each year from CMU for a total
of $45,000 – the same payout as a $1 million endowment.
Endowment annual payout (4.5% spending rate) $22,500
Annual CMU 1:1 match $22,500
Total faculty support each year $45,000
Matching funds will be provided only to the extent that the payment
has been received. So, if a gift of $500,000 is paid over five years
and $100,000 is received the first year, then the matching funds for
the first year are $4,500.
A maximum of $250,000 will be allocated for commitment during this
time and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
A named endowment may be established at a level that meets a donor’s
funding and academic goals. Below are few examples:
Named Chair - $1 million minimum
A named chair provides income toward an outstanding faculty member’s
salary and related expenses, including research and professional
conferences.
Named Professorship - $500,000 minimum
A named professorship provides support for an outstanding faculty
member and related expenses.
Named Young Faculty Award - $250,000 minimum
A named young faculty award provides income to apply toward the
annual salary and teaching/research expenses of an outstanding young
faculty scholar.
Named Endowed Lectureship - $100,000 minimum
A named endowed lectureship provides income for distinguished
lecturers to be brought to campus.
Named Research Fund - $100,000 minimum
A named research fund provides an annual award to be used for
research in the area chosen by the donor and CMU.
Named Faculty Development Fund - $100,000 minimum
A named faculty development fund provides an annual award to enhance
a faculty member’s teaching and research activities.
For more information, please contact Michael A. Leto, vice president
of development & alumni relations, at (989) 774-2382 or visit A New
Vision of Excellence web site at www.vision.cmich.edu
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nsf grant, lectra software
donation generate unlimited research, teaching opportunities
Central Michigan University will use the addition of a body scanner
— a piece of high-tech equipment funded by a $317,486 National
Science Foundation grant — to pursue advanced research related to
apparel design, personal health, engineering and other disciplines.
The VITUS/Smart 3D whole body scanner, purchased through Lectra, can
be used to study how to customize the apparel shopping experience,
modify posture, understand body heat loss or protect soldiers, said
Tanya Domina, a faculty member in CMU’s human environmental studies
department and lead researcher on the three-year NSF project.
CMU will have the only body scanner in Michigan, and one of about
eight in the nation.
A gift of Mikalis software valued at $68,800 from Lectra will be
used with the scanner to complete a digital
design-to-production-to-visualization apparel production process.
Mikalis is product data lifecycle software that will be incorporated
in CMU’s current CAD laboratory, giving students a realistic view of
the apparel production process.
"Lectra is a global leader in providing design, production and
visualization software for textile related industries," said Domina.
The grant supports consulting services and technology training by
Susan Ashdown, director of the body-scanning laboratory at Cornell
University. CMU colleagues Maureen MacGillivray and Usha Chowdhary,
human environmental studies, and Terence Lerch, industrial and
engineering technology, also are involved with the project.
"This technology has many interdisciplinary possibilities," said
Domina. "There are a significant number of faculty in a variety of
colleges and departments who could make use of body scan data for
diverse teaching and research possibilities."
Body scan data can be used to study a variety of activities,
including ergonomics, video animation, health, leisure, fitness,
athletic performance, physical therapy, engineering and automotive
design. Opportunities for studies also exist in business, ethics,
microchip technology, phase change chemicals and bio-functional
roles in design.
Students can use the technology for independent studies and thesis
projects. For example, CMU apparel design students will be able to
create and modify patterns and virtually drape them on body scans or
design clothing to fit the needs of special groups, such as the
elderly or people with disabilities.
Science and engineering students will have opportunities to conduct
interdisciplinary research and receive valuable training in
body-scanning technology. During the second and third years of the
grant, CMU students will work with heat transfer simulations.
The technology also may help attract engineering students and be a
statewide resource for other academic institutions and regional
businesses. After initial CMU studies are completed, textile-apparel
and automotive companies will be invited to participate in applied
research projects. Researchers from other institutions also may make
arrangements to access the equipment and laboratories.
With the addition of a thermal camera, body scanning also could be
used to design functional apparel that is a thermal buffer between
the person and the environment. The scanner can measure the
dimensions of the body, as well as the inside and outside of fabric
layers, allowing an unprecedented amount of information about the
microclimate between the textile and skin, said MacGillivray.
"Innovations in textiles that use microchip technology, phase change
chemicals and bio-functional roles expand the possibilities for
functional apparel design solutions beyond the imagination," said
MacGillivray.
Body scan data can be used to tailor garments for the elderly or
people with special needs. The ability to scan a body, save the
information, attach clothing to the computerized model, and use it
in the design, production and sizing processes is just the
beginning, said Domina.
"The retail industries are just beginning to tap into the body
scanner at this point. What happens when we scan ourselves and send
the digitized information to an online store? I send my body scan
in; they make it for me. It will revolutionize the industry," said
Domina.
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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:
- Establish student scholarships and heighten academic standards
- Provide endowments for faculty research and creativity
- Enhance the campus environment with advanced facilities and technology
- Strengthen ongoing and special programs
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.
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