Chapter 6
Campus Culture

 

Community Support

Community interest has increased community support for University activities. In 1997, under the auspices of the SVSU Foundation, the university engaged in a Campaign for Distinction to enhance the “intellectual bricks and mortar” of the university. The goal was to build a strong endowment base through which to enhance SVSU programs and opportunities for students. Three areas were targeted to build this endowment base:

• Scholarships for exceptional students
• Funds to recruit distinguished faculty and support professional development of faculty
• Funds to enhance and augment academic programs.

Active participants in this program included members of the Board of Fellows, university alumni, community members from Bay City, Saginaw, and Midland, and university faculty and staff. Contributions came from local businesses, foundations, and individuals.

As indicated previously, this Campaign received $12.5 million in pledges and $815,000 in planned gifts — a total of $13.3 million for endowments. New endowments were created and existing endowments enhanced. Among other things, four new endowed chairs were funded, a Visiting Scholars endowment was established, and 34 new scholarships were initiated.

It is through such efforts that the campus has become a cultural and intellectual center offering the community a rich menu of options, including the following:

• The annual Dow Lecture series has brought to campus such well-known political figures as former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, Sergei Khrushchev, and the first African-American governor, L. Douglas Wilder, as well as nationally known media figures such as Paul Solomon and Michael Beschloss.

• The new James E. O’Neill, Jr. Memorial Lecture Series, in honor of the late Saginaw educator and legislator, reflects this community servant’s passion for excellence in government and education. The first lecture in this series, “The Nobility of Public Service,” was given by Frank Kelley, Michigan’s attorney-general emeritus, who served in that office for 37 years and was active in civil rights, consumer protection, and environmental matters.

• The Center for International Studies and Services sponsored a symposium on China, “Knowing Our World,” bringing to campus three internationally known speakers on the topic, including Sherryl WuDunn, Pulitzer Prize winning author from The New York Times.

• The annual William and Julia Edwards Lecture in Philosophy and Religion this year brought to campus Dr. F. E. Peters of New York University to speak on “Holy War: The Blood-Sport of Monotheism.”

• The Rhea Miller endowment brings renowned musicians to campus for concerts and also supports scholarships for music students.

• Dr. Thomas and Hilda Rush sponsor an annual lecture series featuring distinguished SVSU faculty.

• The Wickson-Nickless Distinguished Lectureship in Business, created in 1992, brings nationally and locally recognized business leaders to SVSU to speak on a variety of business issues. In recent years the Wickson-Nickless fund has been used to support speakers who are national and international experts in the area of family business. Speakers have included Stuart Varney (CNN), Stephen Bosworth (United States Senator and Secretary of Labor), and Andrei Kozyrev (Soviet Foreign Minister). Recent speakers such as Arthur Velasquez and Christopher Eckrich have addressed Family Business Program events.

These endowments make it possible for visiting scholars and authors not only to give free formal public lectures to the community, but also to work with classes and community groups and participate in round-table discussions. All have added significantly to the cultural life of the university.