Fall 2008

This Edition:

Building Momentum

Year-end Giving in Uncertain Times

CMU Events Center: A Proud Past. A Bold Future.

Alma Mater on his Mind

Jumper's Park Library Legacy

Everlasting Honor

Botanical Gardeners

Supporting Single Parents
 

ViewPoint Archives

BUILDING MOMENTUM

CMU receives challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation

The Kresge Foundation has offered to put its money behind the new Education Building. But only if CMU supporters are willing to do the same before January 1, 2010.

The Detroit-based private foundation recently presented CMU an $800,000 challenge grant, which the university will receive only if it can raise the remaining $2.1 million needed to reach its $7.5 million campaign goal. All of the $2.1 million raised must come as new private gifts, pledges and grants.

Receiving such a distinguished and highly competitive grant lends credibility to the project, says Michael A. Leto, vice president of development and alumni relations.
“It gives everyone a renewed sense of confidence and momentum,” Leto says. “It also makes those involved in the fundraising more focused and energized to work harder to reach the goal.

“We are certain it will inspire many additional gifts in support of this marvelous facility.”

Qualities that captured Kresge's interests

In addition to enhancing student learning and advancing the education programs, the facility will be the university’s first certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building, incorporating unique sustainable design aspects such as energy efficiency and the use of recycled construction materials.

The LEED certification was among the qualities that interested The Kresge Foundation, says Rip Rapson, foundation president and CEO.
“Central Michigan University provides an accessible, quality education, especially for low-income and underserved communities, and has significantly improved its diversity profile,” Rapson says. “We are delighted to be supporting CMU’s first LEED-certified campus building.”

This marks the second time in six years that CMU has received a challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation. In 2003 CMU received a $600,000 grant after raising $1.9 million for the new Health Professions Building.

Construction of the new Education Building is on schedule for its planned September 2009 opening.

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YEAR-END GIVING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

Donor support needed more than ever

Ted Tolcher checks the latest activity on Wall Street and tucks his cell phone back into his front pocket. It’s better than yesterday, so far.

The director of planned giving at CMU then rereads an e-mailed question he received earlier in the week: “Given the uncertainties of our current state and national economies, why should people still consider making year-end charitable gifts?”

He answers without skipping a beat.

“As people review their financial circumstances this year, it is important that they look at charitable giving to take advantage of all the tax incentives that are available,” Tolcher says. “There are people who can make a difference at CMU, and it’s important for them to step up and realize the importance of helping out the students and the university.”

The end of the year is an opportune time for prospective donors to consider their giving options to support the university, Tolcher says. He explains that people often take this time to evaluate their current tax situations and reflect on the areas of interest where they can make a positive impact.

“The effect on income taxes is an extra benefit to making a charitable gift, but there’s something greater than that involved,” he says. “There is the donor’s passion to support his or her personal interests and wanting to do something that will better the community or institution and create a difference in other peoples’ lives.”

For those alumni and friends who are in the position to consider a major gift, an estate gift or a gift that will provide income back, check with a tax adviser to assure that all income, capital gain and estate tax savings are considered.

Move forward

Learn more today about ways that you can give a gift that will support the students and programs at CMU.

Gift planning
• www.giftplanning.cmich.edu
• tolch1e@cmich.edu
• 800-358-6903

Give a gift today
• giving.cmich.edu

Ways to give

For people interested in giving to CMU the end of this year, CMU Director of Planned Giving Ted Tolcher calls special attention to two giving options: charitable gift annuity and life insurance.

Charitable gift annuity

This giving option enables the donor to receive a lifetime fixed income that does not change, regardless of economic conditions, in return for their gift of cash, marketable securities or real estate. A good porton of the annuity payment consists of tax-free income, and the donor receives an immediate charitable income tax deduction. There also is favorable treatment of the capital gain taxes for donors who have appreciated securities.

Life insurance

Gifting an existing life insurance policy works well if the original purposes for which the insurance was secured, including mortgage protection and insuring tuition payments, are no longer relevant. Transferring all ownership of the rights to CMU also may yield a substantial income tax deduction.

Other year-end ways of giving include cash, securities and real estate. Planned giving options, including bequests and living trusts, also are available.

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CMU EVENTS CENTER: A PROUD PAST. A BOLD FUTURE.

Take part in the campaign to transform the Rose Center

Imagine a modern venue that encompasses the university’s founding principles – wisdom, virtue and friendship – and houses community celebrations and athletic events.

Now imagine it at CMU.

The $20 million Campaign for the CMU Events Center is under way. The Events Center Prelude on October 11 formally kicked off the campaign that will provide private funding for the transformation of the current Rose Center into an entirely new complex.

This represents a bold stride toward the opening of a premier venue that serves the academic, athletic and community needs of the university and citizens of central and northern Michigan.

“This world-class Events Center will significantly contribute to the overall quality of life in mid-Michigan,” CMU Athletics Director Dave Heeke told the nearly 400 people who attended the kick-off event. “It also will be a key factor in the economic vitality of this community.”

CMU to be among Michigan’s premier destinations

The Events Center is the future venue for commencement, Homecoming activities, sold-out concerts, athletic events and more. Most importantly, it is the home of Chippewa pride.

“This facility will build upon CMU’s growing success in Division I athletics and position this great university as one of Michigan’s premier entertainment and cultural destinations,” says CBS sportscaster Dick Enberg, ’57.

Enberg and retired NBA player and Hall of Fame member Dan Majerle, ’88, are honorary campaign co-chairs.

“I was thrilled to hear of the university’s plans to expand and renovate Rose Center,” Majerle says. “An arena full of fans is among my most vivid memories of CMU. What better way to bring that level of excitement back to campus.”

In addition to modern amenities, the Events Center will have:
• Upgraded seating for 5,300
• A new 12,000-square-foot practice facility
• Completely redesigned angular exterior and bright glazed-glass entrance
• 10,000-square-foot lobby and reception area

Center support

The Campaign for the CMU Events Center will be funded exclusively through private contributions from the university community, partners, alumni and friends.
From basketball locker rooms to the new practice facility, there are several Events Center naming opportunities available.

Visit www.cmich.edu/eventscenter for information on how you can support
this new level of excitement and possibility.

All-time teams

Seventy former student-athletes were selected by Central Michigan University and its fans as the top performers in the history of CMU’s Finch Fieldhouse and Rose Arena.

The All-Finch Fieldhouse and All-Rose Arena teams honor 35 of the top performers from each of CMU’s venues. The athletes were recognized at Homecoming, and their names will be prominently displayed in the new Events Center.

Former volleyball great Terri Phillion-Dulude, ’83, is a member of the All-Rose team. Dulude was the first female at CMU to receive a full athletic scholarship, and she still ranks among the program leaders in kills and blocks.

“This is an honor that will stay with me for the rest of my life,” she says.
But seeing her name permanently displayed is only one of the reasons Phillion-Dulude is looking forward to the new Events Center. Her daughter, Lindsey, is a Midland High School senior who will join the Chippewa volleyball team next fall.

“I can’t wait to see her walk out onto the court for the first time in the new Events Center,” Phillion-Dulude says. “Being a part of CMU and the volleyball team was one of the most special things for me to be involved in, and I’m so proud and happy for her that she will be a part of it too.”

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ALMA MATER ON HIS MIND

Kreft is dedicated to advancing CMU

At short-staffed Chicago alumni events, Ira Kreft (pictured left) always lends a helping hand.

The 1977 graduate and CMU Alumni Association Chicago Chapter president selflessly has done everything from preliminary legwork to setting up the venue and greeting the guests.

“There are always event ideas and venues that get recommended to us by alumni that would make for a nice alumni event,” says Chris Austin, associatedirector of alumni relations. “Ira always helps us make these decisions since he is willing and able to do some pre-event scouting for us. I think he is always thinking
of CMU no matter what he is doing.”

Kreft, the managing director and region manager of RBS Business Capital in Chicago, has volunteered his time to CMU for more than 10 years, serving as a member of the alumni board, development board and the College of
Business Administration Advisory Council.

Kreft considers it important to give back to the university.

“I am committed to advancing CMU’s mission, whether it be academics, athletics or alumni relations,” says Kreft, who received the College of Business Administration Alumni Commitment Award in 2004. “And, with CMU, I feel that my efforts are valued, and I can make a difference.”

Because of their motivation to help the university, volunteers like Kreft are an extension of CMU, Austin says.

“You can have a great plan and a great vision of what you want to accomplish at the alumni office and development office, but without the volunteers out there in the trenches, you really can’t carry that out,” he says. “Ira is always looking for ways to connect with alumni, whether it be via an e-mail listserv that he maintains or posting event information on various social networking sites.

“He will do what is necessary to connect with alumni of all ages.”

Connecting youru community

As a current and active volunteer for CMU, Ira Kreft is part of the university’s Volunteer Network community. This newsletter, Connections, is dedicated to those who volunteer their time, energy and resources in support of CMU.

Contact Gwynn Tilmann if you have a particular area of interest or if you have any questions about getting involved with CMU. Gwynn can be reached at (989) 774-7153.

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JUMPERS PARK LIBRARY LEGACY

Planned gift generates funding for resources

Sitting at a computer in the Alice Jumper study, sophomore Don Klein says he appreciates Jumper’s contributions to CMU.

“I think it’s awesome how people can put others first like that. And think of all the people she never met who are going to use this room because of her,” he says.

Alice Jumper (pictured left) lived quite simply in her bungalow style home nestled in the St. Johns area, where she lived her entire life ­– all 101 years.

The 1963 graduate’s living room was full of books, everything from children’s literature to novels. This love for reading stretched from the children she taught for more than 38 years to her work as a library volunteer.

And now, this love has returned to Park Library.

Jumper, who passed away in March, left the library an endowment of $284,603, which will bring more resources and materials to students, staff and faculty for years to come, says Tom Moore, dean of libraries.

“Alice appreciated books and libraries, and giving to the library appealed to her as part of a theme of her life,” Moore says. “She loved to teach children, and she loved to read to them.”

Extended Hours Study honors Jumper’s legacy

CMU recognized her planned gift in 2002 by naming the library’s Extended Hours Study in her honor. 

Jumper earned her teaching certificate from the County Normal in Clinton County in 1928. While she taught in country schools, she traveled from St. Johns to Mount Pleasant, taking courses at CMU in the evenings and over the summers. Jumper never married or had children of her own.

Jumper inherited some of her love and respect for books from Charles Park, CMU’s library director from 1930 to 1957.

“Dr. Park was very careful about his books, and he made sure that you took good care of them,” Jumper said in 1999.

Sound investments and $6 a week on groceries

Daniel Morrison, Jumper’s financial adviser and a CMU alumnus, said Jumper’s savings grew through careful investments.

But she never cared much about money, Morrison explains. She spent an average of $6 a week on groceries. Her furniture remained 1930s-style or maybe even older, and the last time she drove her 1967 Malibu was in the mid 1970s, he says.

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EVERLASTING HONOR

Walker family establishes library endowment

Ken Walker smiled when he looked at the newly mounted recognition plaque near the door of the Park Library Reserves Room.

A crowd of family, friends and former coworkers – nearly four times the number originally anticipated – gathered around him for the ceremony to dedicate the area in memory of his wife, Cindy.

Cindy Walker, who is fondly remembered for her smile and warm spirit, worked closely with students in Park Library as reserves supervisor from 1968 to 1986.

“She loved this place so much,” Walker, ’65 MA ’75, says of his wife of 60 years. “I know she’d be happy. This was a good honor to be bestowed on her.”

Walker passed away in October 2007 following a long struggle with heart disease and cancer. In her memory, the Walker family contributed a gift to the library to establish the Cynthia E. Walker Family Endowment.

The gift to the library was automatically increased because it was given during the Annual University Campaign, during which the university provides a 50 percent match for each donation given by CMU faculty, staff and retirees. Tom Moore, dean of libraries, says the annual earnings on the endowment will provide unrestricted support for library services.

Moore didn’t work with Cindy Walker at the library, but he did get to know her after she retired.

“I knew her to be a charming person and knew from others that she was a great supervisor to her students,” he says. “I am so pleased that we have this opportunity to honor and remember Cindy in this way.”

Campaign runs through December 5

CMU provides a 50 percent match for each donation given by CMU retirees, faculty and staff during the Annual University Campaign, which this year is scheduled through December 5.

Contact Bryan Griffin, director of annual giving, at (989) 774-7112, or visit www.giving.cmich.edu/campaign.asp, to learn more.

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BOTANICAL GARDENERS

Taking root

The first phase of building the new CMU Botanical Gardens began in early October as landscape technicians John Gower and Al Foor (pictured below) from Maple Hill Nursery in Midland planted maidenhair and royal ferns on the west side of the garden. This fall, 13 trees, 40 shrubs and nearly 400 perennials will go into the ground.

Of every dollar contributed to the botanical gardens project, 34 cents will be used to build the gardens, and 66 cents will be put into an endowment for garden maintenance. Contact Gail Moore, College of Science and Technology director of development, at (989) 774-3773 to learn more about contributing to this project.

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SUPPORTING SINGLE PARENTS

Rogers endowment funds scholarships

Kenneth Rogers and his wife, Jane, (pictured left) wanted to assist people similar to those he had taken classes with at CMU Off-Campus Programs in southeastern Michigan.
Many of his fellow students were single parents who found time to take care of their families, enroll in classes and study while working full-time jobs.

“I admired the effort and commitment single parents made in their efforts to secure a degree from CMU. Jane and I wanted to find a way to support them,” Kenneth Rogers says.

Rogers and his wife recently made a three-year pledge to establish an endowment at CMU that will support southeastern Michigan single parents pursuing a degree through CMU Off-Campus Programs. The scholarship will be renewable for up to four semesters of consecutive enrollment.

Rogers said he supports the initiative of these parents who are determined to get a college education. He hopes the endowment will make it possible for others to continue with educational opportunities, or, at least make it easier for them to do so.

Now is the best time to create an endowment, according to Rogers.
“There’s no time like the present,” he says.

Unfinished business

In 1957 and 1958, Rogers attended CMU. Forty years later he completed his degree.

Rogers, executive director of Automation Alley and deputy county executive for Oakland County, earned his Bachelor of Science in Public Administration degree through CMU Off-Campus Programs.

“I always felt that securing my degree was unfinished business,” he says. “After so many years, I needed to graduate.”

CMU Off-Campus Programs presented Rogers the opportunity to complete his educational experience and move forward. He found the course work interesting and challenging, saying he enjoys learning.

“It was a sad day when my classes were over,” Rogers says.

CMU recognized Rogers for his leadership, volunteerism and commitment to strengthening economic development when it awarded him a Doctor of Public Service honorary degree in 2006.

And the CMU experience continued in the Rogers family when his granddaughter started at CMU this fall.

Yes you can

When Kenneth Rogers had the opportunity to complete his education at CMU, many of his fellow students were single parents who could have benefitted from the kind of  endowment he later established to help single parents pursue a degree through CMU Off-Campus Programs.

With online courses and more than 60 locations across North America, CMU Off-Campus Programs can help you reach your educational goals.

To learn more about CMU Off-Campus Programs visit cmich.edu/offcampus.

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