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Chapter 7: A Rich History of Philanthropy
The 50th Anniversary Campaign (Endowment, 2012).
May 10, 2013, SVSU announced “Talent. Opportunity. Promise. The Campaign for SVSU,” with a $25 million goal and a focus on the institution’s 50th anniversary. During a “quiet phase” the previous academic year, the university solicited donations from major regional donors and the SVSU faculty and staff. The resulting endowments, according to the foundation, would help “attract and retain the top talent in faculty, staff and students; continue to provide a wide range of distinctive opportunities for academic, professional and cultural development; [and] create a more promising future for our students, our region, and the world.”15 Chairs for the campaign were attorney John A. Decker, businessman D. Brian Law, contractor Herbert A. Spence III and philanthropic foundation executive Jenee L. Velasquez. A steering committee of seven persons worked on the campaign: investment advisor David J. Abbs, a former SVSU Board of Control chair; Donald Bachand, SVSU vice president for academic affairs and provost; K. P. Karunakaran, M.D., former chair of the Board of Control; retired banker and foundation board member Dominic Monastiere; former hospital executive and foundation board member Terence F. Moore; electricity company executive Linda L. Sims, a former Board of Control member; and accountant Jerome L. Yantz of the Board of Control. Honorary committee members included Braun and his wife Ruth; former Board of Control member Charles Curtiss and his wife Sue; Linneaus and Phae Dorman; Dr. Malcolm and Lois Field; retired Air Force General Dave Hall and his wife Jackie; attorney B. J. Humphreys and his wife Laura; foundation executive Alan Ott and his wife Jean; excavation company owners Tom and Ginger Marx; foundation executive Margaret Ann Riecker; former SVSU president Jack Ryder and his wife Lila; businessman Martin Stark; retired banker Bob Vitito and his wife Bobbi; and community leader Judy Yeo.
Of notable mention at the time of this publication’s printing is the largest single gift from an SVSU alumna. Janet M. Botz, 1974, B.A., announced a gift of $1 million for the 50th Anniversary Campaign to create the Botz Fellowship, an internship program for liberal arts students in the College of Arts & Behavioral Sciences.
John A. Decker
D. Brian Law
Herbert Spence III
Jenee L. Velasquez
