"The scholarship is designed to support women… who want to do work in this world to eliminate violence against women."
–Terri Taylor
"There's going to be a great demand for automotive engineers on the cutting edge of their field… it's our only way of catching back up and getting even again with the foreign competition."
–Harlan Palm
"I don't know of any campus that has something like this."
–Carol Brown
Foundation President Richard SchmitzThank you for a wonderful year and for the bright future you're helping create for the students and faculty of Minnesota State University, Mankato.
In 2005-2006, we added student grants to the long list of gifts the Foundation gives to students and programs. Nearly $25,000 in total, thanks to you, went to students presenting high-quality, publishable research at the University's prestigious Undergraduate Research Conference. Funded projects included an analysis of a breast cancer drug, an examination of the nutritional impact of the Campus Kitchens program, and a study of calligraphy in modern Islamic art. Some of the grant recipients presented to the Foundation Board at our May meeting. Their diligence, drive and insights were inspiring. They showed us without a doubt that education is the most important cause we can fund.
In an effort to do an even better job of supporting the University, this year the Board changed how we do business on a fundamental level. We're recruiting and training new members with more attention than ever before to where members come from and what professions they represent, so that the Foundation truly reflects our 100,000-strong alumni body in geography, gender, ethnicity and interests. We're also making sure there's continuity on the Board by assigning vice chairs to succeed the outgoing chair of each committee.
Gift by gift, detail by detail, we're building a stronger Foundation to support the ever-higher goals and achievements of this University, its faculty and its students. The donors featured here speak for all of us when they talk about the rewards of giving. I hope you, too, have experienced that joy, and that you'll accept my thanks for making it a stellar year.
University President Richard DavenportMinnesota State University, Mankato is about to take the monumental step of becoming a doctoral degree-granting institution. This is transformational, and right in line with our history - first a normal school, then a teacher's college, a college, a university and now a doctoral university. The next step.
The new College of Business building, currently in the planning stages, also promises to transform the campus. It will provide a new physical centerpiece and change what the College can offer academically, as well as open up space for other disciplines to expand labs and classrooms.
Doctoral degrees and the new College of Business building are just two of the many ways we're shaping the University in line with the changes taking place in our world. You'll begin also to see our name more and more as we as we continue to be involved as a statewide leader and provider of regional educational opportunities and applied research focused on addressing Minnesota's needs. And your support is giving us the means to make it all happen. Education is perhaps the most powerful force we have in coping with the challenges of the day, and thanks to you, Minnesota State Mankato is that very force in the lives of thousands of students.
The Foundation Board's leadership and support is invaluable, as are each of you and the contributions you make. The three donors who share their stories here are representative of the caring and generous people associated with Minnesota State University, Mankato. Thank you for being part of that group. You make me feel honored to lead this institution.
