Contact: UWSP Foundation,
715-346-3812
Released: Oct. 2, 1998
UWSP Foundation appoints Porter to board
At its annual meeting Wednesday, the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point Foundation named a professional basketball player and UWSP alumnus to the board, re-elected its slate of officers, awarded five past directors emeritus status, approved last year’s audit and announced several new pledges.
Named to the board was Terry Porter of Edina, Minn., a graduate of UWSP and star basketball player currently with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The board commended the efforts of Porter and his family on behalf of UWSP, which have included generous gifts to athletics and the Division of Communication plus unrestricted dollars. Also, for several years, Porter has hosted an annual golf tournament to benefit the Milwaukee Scholar’s Fund.
Among new pledges announced by capital gifts chair Bob Schmidt was a $50,000 anonymous donation and a three-year commitment of $70,000 from the First Financial Foundation and the John Seramur Family Foundation , $60,000 to benefit the Laird Endowment and $10,000 to the Seramur Scholarship fund. This gift to the Laird campaign helps to bring the endowment closer to a projected $1 million making it the largest endowment in the history of the foundation. Board President Jim Anderson thanked Seramur and First Financial for their generosity in giving this impetus to the endowment which supports Laird Youth Leadership Day, Laird Scholarships and the Laird Arts Education Award.
In addition, a campaign to raise $250,000 for scholarships to students studying abroad through UWSP’s International Programs was approved.
Commended for their past leadership, foundation officers including Anderson, Vice President Judi Carlson, Treasurer Tom Stout and Secretary Dan Meyer were unanimously chosen to serve another one-year term. George thanked the officers for their commitment to the foundation and for their support of its recent successful fundraising efforts. The annual foundation audit reported income of $1,410,000 for the past fiscal year, a 50 percent increase over 1997 while operating costs decreased by $65,000. George also congratulated the board members for a 300 percent increase in their own annual giving.
"The UWSP foundation provides the university with a margin of excellence especially through the raising of unrestricted funds which are used to support critical needs on campus," George said.
T
he by-laws were amended to allow the board to grant emeritus status to members who have served three terms with distinction. Named emeritus board members were Tom Copps, Len De Baker, Karen Engelhard, Tom Nikolai and Al Noel. Nominated to three-year terms on the board were Anderson, Bruce Bay, John Buzza, Tom Stout, Gerald Viste, Fritz Wenzel and Ron Wessels.According to Anderson, the strength of the foundation and its long-standing commitment to serving people has been proven once again through its $270,000 in scholarship support to more than 600 UWSP students and its funding of critical campus initiatives.
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