San Diego State University Reports $55.2 Million in Philanthropic Gifts for 2004-05

Contact: Renee Haines
Media Relations, San Diego State University
Tel: (619) 594-4298
rhaines@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO - (Friday, Oct. 7, 2005) - San Diego State University exceeded the $50 million mark for the second year in a row in private-sector gifts and pledges, the university announced today.

"It is immensely rewarding to receive these generous gifts from the community we serve," said SDSU President Stephen L. Weber. "With this welcome support, we can educate and inspire new generations of leaders and innovators for the region and state."

San Diego State reported $55.2 million in new gifts, pledge payments and new philanthropic pledges for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Gifts and/or pledges of $1 million or more benefited the university’s colleges of Arts & Letters, Education, Health & Human Services, Business Administration, Professional Studies & Fine Arts, and Sciences.

Several of these gifts and pledges included:

• A $3 million pledge from retired Navy scientist and San Diego State alumnus Fred Henry to endow the Frederick G. Henry Chair in Life Sciences to head the university’s BioScience Center. The center, scheduled to open in 2006, will house SDSU’s Heart Institute, its Center for Microbial Sciences, and house state-of-the-art research laboratories.

• A $1.5 million gift from the The Corky McMillin Companies, headquartered in San Diego, to fund The Corky McMillin Chair in the real estate program. The company employs numerous San Diego State graduates, including company vice chair Mark McMillin.

• A $1 million gift from San Diego hotelier Terry Brown, president of Atlas Hotels Inc., to endow the Brown Family Hotel Executive-in-Residence to San Diego State’s Hospitality and Tourism Management Program. The 5-year-old program this year reported a nearly 100 percent job placement record for its graduates, with most now working in San Diego.

• Continuing support from the four-year, $14.5 million gift from QUALCOMM Inc. to establish the QUALCOMM Institute for Innovation and Educational Success. Funds from the San Diego-based Fortune 500 wireless communications company is supporting professional development and curriculum innovations for K-16 teachers and students in San Diego County and throughout the country.

• Nearly $3.4 million from Price Charities to continue and expand the City Heights Educational Initiative – part of the university-run City Heights Educational Collaborative.

Since Weber’s arrival at SDSU in 1996, the university has received more than $356 million in private support. More than 90 percent of all gifts received over the past five years were designated for academic program, student or faculty support.

"Through these gifts, our university has been able to establish privately funded, endowed faculty positions to recruit and retain top scholars in these fields, which will strengthen San Diego State’s role as a renowned institution for teaching and research," said Theresa Mendoza, vice president for University Advancement and CEO of The Campanile Foundation, SDSU’s philanthropic foundation.

Two other chairs established with major gifts in the past fiscal year include the Ray Sabin and A.K. Jones Endowed Professorship in Children’s Literature, and the Singh Endowed Professorship in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences.

The President’s Leadership Fund, which has raised $3.5 million in private funding since its inception less than three years ago, this year reached 100 Founding Partners committed to transforming the landscape of San Diego State. Since its inception, the President’s Leadership Fund has allocated more than $1 million to university students, faculty and staff in support of innovation and strategic initiatives.

More than 200 donations totaling $550,000 for a planned new Alumni Center pushed the SDSU Alumni Center Campaign past the halfway mark toward its $10 million fund-raising goal.

The Aztec Athletic Fund raised nearly $2.9 million in private contributions toward athletic scholarships and support for the university’s athletic teams.

The College of Education also secured $2.5 million in private support to enhance several important programs and initiatives, including the Literacy Center, the Reading Recovery Program, and the college’s two programs housed in the QUALCOMM Institute for Innovation and Educational Success.

In addition to the $55.2 million in private gifts and pledges last year, the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation donated $5.5 million to San Diego State to establish the Sycuan Institute on Tribal Gaming. Funding for the country’s first tribal gaming research institute and academic curriculum also contributed to a philanthropic milestone for the 5-year-old program, which received a total of $7.2 million in cash, pledges and other support during the past fiscal year.

San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasing international emphasis that prepares students for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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