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Foundation History

1950's

1955:

E.A. Hauss, a leader in the lumber industry, donated $318, 000 to the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences to establish an endowment. Since that initial gift, the endowment has funded more than 200 undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, as well as programmatic, facility, and faculty support.

1959:

Auburn University launched the Auburn Development Fund fundraising drive.

1960's

1960:

The Auburn University Foundation incorporated on Feb. 9, under the Alabama Nonprofit Corporation Act. Edmund C. Leach, president of the Auburn Alumni Association, served as its first president and board chair until 1963.

1963:

Launched in 1959, the Auburn Development Fund fundraising drive successfully concluded on Sept. 30 by raising $2.6 million and surpassing its original goal. Auburn uses more than $1 million to build a new nuclear science research and teaching center, which is named for Leach.

1963:

Dr. Ben S. Gilmer became the foundation’s second president and board chair and served until 1987 – making him the board’s longest-serving volunteer leader. Gilmer graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1926 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and in 1958 with a doctoral degree.

1965:

In cooperation with the Auburn Alumni Association, the Auburn University Foundation initiated the Auburn Annual Giving program, which raised $166,000 in its first year.

1970's

1970:

A $600, 000 fund drive raised support to furnish the new School of Veterinary Medicine building.

1974:

A $857, 000 capital fund drive supported construction of a new School of Pharmacy building.

1975:

On its 10th anniversary, the Auburn Annual Giving program reached a new single-year record of $541,000 in donations.

1976:

An $11.2 million bequest from Eleanor Ritchey funded construction of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Scott-Ritchey Research Center and endowed support for its animal research program.

1976:

Ohio industrialist Kenneth Scott issued a dollar-for-dollar matching gift challenge in support of Dr. Benjamin F. Hoerlein’s research in the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Clinic. Scott’s funding allowed Hoerlein to expand his research efforts and attract the attention of Florida veterinarian Dr. Ivan Fredericton, which later led to additional charitable support for the college.

1978:

Solon and Martha Dixon donated 5,350 acres in Andalusia, Ala. as a forestry preserve to benefit educational, research, and outreach initiatives in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences. It was the largest gift at the time from a living donor and remains Auburn’s largest real estate gift to date.

1979:

The Auburn University Foundation established the Alumni Academic Scholarship program, Auburn’s first scholarship program based solely on academic merit.

1980's

1980:

Auburn publicly launched its first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Auburn Generations Fund campaign, with a goal of raising $61.7 million by 1985.

1982:

A gift of $30,000 from two-time Auburn Engineering graduate Donald R. Luger ’62 in honor of his late wife, Pat Sanders Luger, represented the School of Nursing’s first endowed student scholarship.

1983:

Gifts from Dr. Jimmy Goodwin ’72 and John W. Overton ’35 led to additional student facilities in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Goodwin, an Engineering alumnus who supported the university in numerous ways during his lifetime and through his estate, funded construction of the Joy Goodwin Student Center, named in honor of his daughter Joy, a 1976 Human Sciences graduate as well as a friend and client of the college. A $1 million estate gift from Overton, a 1935 business administration graduate who served as an Auburn trustee from 1959 to 1971, funded the constructing of the Overton Auditorium.

1984:

Through an initial gift of $20,000, Hazel Kilpatrick established the George and Hazel Kilpatrick Endowment Fund in the College of Human Sciences. Through an additional estate gift, this endowment has grown in excess of $1 million and now supports the college’s instructional, research, and outreach programs, as well as funds equipment and renovation needs as they arise.

1985:

Auburn concluded the Auburn Generations Fund campaign, launched in 1980, after exceeding its $61.7 million goal by nearly 80 percent. It was the first campaign by a public university in the South to exceed $100 million.

1986:

Holland Ware’s $1 million gift to support College of Veterinary Medicine’s cancer research led to the construction of the Holland Ware Imaging Center, and Auburn’s status as one of the first campuses in the country to have a CT scan, MRI and linear accelerator in one location.

1987:

The first phonathon raised funds for a new Auburn Alumni Center to serve as home to Auburn’s Office of Alumni Affairs and Office of Development, as well as the Auburn Alumnni Association and Auburn University Foundation.

1987:

Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz ’80, a member of the Saudi royal family, earned his master’s degree in political science from Auburn University at Montgomery while stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base. Following a gift of $600,000 to AUM in 1987 to establish the Khaled Eminent Scholar Chair, he made subsequent gifts to support the Masters of International Relations program and to establish the Prince Khaled Fund for International Understanding totaling an additional $950,000.

1988:

Donors funded nearly a quarter of the $20.5 million 380,000-square-foot expansion of the Ralph B. Draughon Library, which increased library capacity to 2.5 million volumes, expanded seating to 2,000, included a 345-vehicle parking deck, and led to the Libraries’ membership in the Association of Research Libraries.

1989:

Auburn dedicated the 26, 000-square-foot Auburn Alumni Center on May 6.

1989:

The Ross Perot Foundation established the Thomas Walter Center for Technology Management in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering through a grant to honor Walter ’55. The center strives to train engineering and business students in common programs and to study and improve the problem solving at the intersection of business and engineering disciplines. Among its most visible programs are the Business-Engineering-Technology curriculum minor for business and engineering students, and efforts to support, enable, and promote technology commercialization. In addition, the Perot Foundation also funded an eminent scholar chair in technology management. Walter expanded the center’s mission in 2006 through a generous $1 million gift.

1990's

1992:

Dr. Tyler Young ’40 and his wife Frances bequeathed a portion of their estate, approximately $8 million, to the College of Veterinary Medicine. Their philanthropic support included outright and endowed scholarship support, donations for various renovations and equipment purchases, and an endowed chair in the Department of Pathobiology.

1992:

Susan and Allen Phillips, grandchildren of Louise Hauss Miller, donated Miller’s collection of Audubon prints and a $1 million gift from the Louise Hauss Miller Foundation to support care and eventual display of the prints.

1993:

The Alabama Power Foundation donated $215,000 to support an experimental design-build architecture studio. The Rural Studio has since transformed the curriculum of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction as well as the impoverished communities of Alabama’s “Black Belt” region. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2013, the Rural Studio continues to fulfill the vision its founders, D.K. Ruth and Samuel Mockbee, by providing students of the college’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture with hands-on educational experiences benefitting some of Alabama’s poorest counties through housing and community development solutions.

1994:

Earl H. “Buddy” Weaver began service as president and chair of the Auburn University Foundation board of directors until 2002. He earned bachelor’s (1962), master’s (1964), and doctoral (1978) degrees from Auburn, and was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 2006 shortly before his passing.

1994:

Barney Wilborn, a 1945 building science and construction graduate of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction made Auburn’s largest single gift to date. Wilborn’s gift, through a charitable remainder unitrust, was valued at nearly $8 million once fully realized and established the John E. Wilborn Endowed Chair in Building Science — one of the nation’s most prestigious construction management eminent scholar chairs.

1994:

The Humana Foundation, to honor its then-president and chief operating officer Wayne T. Smith ’68, a two-time graduate of the College of Education, pledged $1 million in support of endowed professorships for faculty in what is now the School of Kinesiology. These endowed professorships represented the first of their kind in the college.

1994:

The 1856 Society formed to recognize donors whose cumulative lifetime contributions exceed $100, 000.

1996:

Alfa Insurance made a $5 million gift, which led to the construction of the ALFA Agricultural Services and Research Building to support research in the College of Agriculture. As the largest and most-used facility of its type in Alabama, it helps Auburn fulfill its extension and outreach mission.

1996:

Launched publicly in 1994, Campaign Auburn: The Next Generation concluded after exceeding its $175 million goal by more than 15 percent.

1996:

William R. and Fay Ireland endowed scholarships in the College of Sciences and Mathematics through a $300, 000 gift in appreciation for the research conducted by Auburn students and faculty.

1997:

To support the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business’ outreach efforts and academic study of family businesses, Robert and Charlotte Lowder established the Robert and Charlotte Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship. The center teaches students how to address the needs and dynamics affecting family businesses.

1997:

An estate gift from Marguerite Eberhardt Scharnagle ’20 represented the College of Sciences and Mathematics’ first endowed professorship. The Marguerite Scharnagle Endowed Professorship has played a pivotal role in retaining outstanding Auburn professors by recognizing faculty accomplishments, with equal weight in teaching, research, and service in the biological sciences, mathematical sciences, and physical sciences. When Scharnagle received her bachelor’s degree in science and literature from Alabama Polytechnic Institute, she was one of only four female students in her class. After passing away at 99, her generous estate gift benefitted not only the College of Sciences and Mathematics, but the College of Liberal Arts and the Auburn University Libraries as well.

1998:

The Samford Society formed to recognize donors whose cumulative lifetime contributions to Auburn University range between $25, 000 and $100,000.

1998:

Support from James T. Pursell Sr. ’52, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Auburn, elevated the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business’ study of and focus on business ethics through the James T. Pursell, Sr. Eminent Scholar Chair in Ethics — the first of its kind in the Southeast. He also funded the creation of the James T. Pursell Sr. Center for Ethical Organizational Cultures, which positioned the Harbert College as a leader in business ethics as the only campus in the country to host such a research center.

1998:

Drummond Company began annual giving that has provided more than 500 students in the Honors College, College of Human Sciences, and School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences with scholarships and fellowships.

1998:

Albert Smith Jr.’s $3 million gift toward the construction of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art honored his 50-year marriage to wife Jule.

1999:

The George Petrie Society formed to recognize donors who include Auburn University or Auburn Montgomery in their estate plans.

1999:

Competitive retriever trainers Richard G. and Dorothy Metcalf sent their dog trainer to some of the Auburn-sponsored instructional meetings in the early 1990s after learning about the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Canine Sports Medicine Program. Mrs. Metcalf followed up with a personal visit to meet with the dean and canine sports medicine faculty. Impressed with what she saw, she began making gifts to the program, which ultimately totaled more than $5 million during her lifetime and through her estate. In appreciation for her support, Auburn named its canine sports medicine program the program after the Metcalfs.

2000's

2000:

Wireless communications pioneer Samuel Ginn and wife Ann’s $25 million gift, the largest of its kind at the time to Auburn or any other Alabama university, created the first-of-its-kind wireless engineering degree and led to the naming of the college in Ginn’s honor.

2000:

Philanthropic support from the family of W.W. Walker Jr. enabled the Harrison School of Pharmacy to implement its Pharm.D program through innovative, new approaches integrating students into patient care and employing team-based education, which in turn produced graduates unlike those of its peer schools. In honor of this transformational gift, as well as previous gifts supporting the school’s building fund and endowing a professorship and a fund for teaching excellence, Auburn named the school’s building the W.W. Walker Jr. Building.

2002:

A $5 million gift from James I. Harrison Sr. and his family, for the School of Pharmacy’s academic programs, led to naming the school in their honor.

2002:

Matthew and Louise Deichelmann left the majority of their estate to Auburn University at Montgomery to establish scholarships named in memory of their sons, Capt. Samuel Mackall Deichelmann (USAF) and Capt. Stephen Travis Deichelmann (USAF) ’66 (bachelor’s degree, physics, Auburn University), both of whom died in service to their country in the Vietnam War. Since 2002, when their endowment matured at a value of $3.4 million, these scholarships recognize students who graduated in the top-10 percent of their high school class and attend Auburn Montgomery.

2003:

Dr. Earle C. Williams ’51 began service as president and chair of the Auburn University Foundation and served until 2005. Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1951, and later completed a doctoral degree in 1991.

2003:

A planned gift from Paul J. Spina ’63 (electrical engineering) and Bena Ann Spina, when realized, will have significant bearing on students fulfilling their academic goals by creating scholarship endowments in five Auburn colleges and schools: Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, College of Education, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Harrison School of Pharmacy, and College of Sciences and Mathematics.

2003:

As a result of one of the College of Education’s largest planned gift commitments received to date, an estate gift from two-time Education alumna Hedy White Manry ’71 (secondary social science education) and her husband John P. Manry ultimately will provide support for students, faculty, and programs in the college.

2003:

Auburn’s Panhellenic Council donated more than $80, 000 and inspired the Auburn Family to create a scholarship honoring Capt. Mike Spann (USMC) ’92 and benefitting Auburn students whose family members lost their lives in the line of duty as American military and federal personnel. On Nov. 25, 2001, Spann became the first American killed in combat during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

2003:

In recognition of Ida Belle Young’s $17 million bequest to support scholarships at Auburn Montgomery, AUM named it library tower in her honor.

2004:

Planned giving commitments from R. Wayne McElrath ’52 (agricultural education) promise to transform academic programs in both the College of Agriculture and College of Education. His continued generosity in addition to his estate gift supports scholarship endowments in both colleges and benefits students aspiring to be secondary educators and agricultural professionals.

2004:

The Auburn University School of Nursing and the Auburn University at Montgomery School of Nursing awarded its first endowed professorship through the generous philanthropic support of SouthTrust Bank. Now known as the Wells Fargo Endowed Professorship, it highlights the role faculty serve in the nursing education enterprise as it is bestowed on the director of the schools’ joint MSN program.

2005:

Sally Jones Hill ’63 was elected as the foundation’s first female president and board chair.

2005:

Auburn launched its third comprehensive campaign, It Begins at Auburn, in conjunction with the university’s sesquicentennial celebration. The campaign sought to raise $500 million by 2008.

2005:

One of the College of Education’s most significant bequests came from an anonymous donor whose gift, when realized, will create a $1.8 million endowment to provide scholarships for secondary mathematics education students.

2005:

After 13 years in the making, Auburn dedicated the new School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences building on Aug. 26. While construction costs totaled $24.7 million, the school’s alumni and friends funded 98 percent of those expenses through private donations.

2005:

The College of Education’s largest outright gift at the time came from two-time Education alumnus Wayne T. Smith ’68 and wife Cheryl Glass Smith ’68 (speech pathology education), also an Education graduate, whose gift transformed the face of research in the college by expanding its faculty’s competitive capacity to secure external grant funding for research and outreach endeavors. Within five years, their support translated into a 130-percent increase in the average number of proposals submitted by faculty, and a 232-percent increase in the number of submitted proposals that were funded.

2005:

Since graduating from Auburn University at Montgomery with a master’s of business administration, alumnus Tom F. Clement ’77 and his wife, Fran, have funded four endowed scholarships for AUM students as well as established a charitable remainder trust which will support the AUM College of Business. In recognition of these and other generous gifts, the building housing the College of Business was named Tom F. Clement Hall on Nov. 18.

2005:

Calendar year gifts and commitments exceeded $100 million for the first time.

2006:

The College of Sciences and Mathematics’ endowed faculty chair was made possible through a generous $1 million gift from Dr. Don Logan ’66 (bachelor’s degree, science and mathematics; doctor of science degree, 1997) and his wife Sandy. The Don Logan Endowed Chair allows the college to recognize superior faculty in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics who demonstrate academic leadership through their academic and service endeavors that enhance mathematics education and serve as a positive role model for students and colleagues.

2006:

Because of the fine care Auburn graduate and veterinarian Dr. Michael Newman ’80 (master’s degree and doctorate, veterinary medicine) provided to her dogs over the years, Clara McDonald bequeathed $2 million to the College of Veterinary Medicine as part of her estate. Her estate gift became the first gift toward the construction of the college’s Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital.

2006:

With a $50, 000 gift from the Trott family, the Auburn University Libraries endowed the James W. and Susan N. Trott Fund for Excellence to preserve and digitize the Libraries’ aging holdings that include Civil War correspondence, university history, and other significant collections. Their generosity has inspired other donors, which has allowed Special Collections and Archives to become a digitization and online-access leader among peer libraries. Dr. James Trott Jr. ’68 and wife Susan Neal Trott ’68 are three-time and two-time graduates, respectively, of the College of Education.

2006:

Energen Corporation (Mike Warren) provided the initial funding for the creation and implementation of the highly successful Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship (PLUS) program. The program was instituted to increase diversity among the undergraduate student population at Auburn University. A program of the Office of the Provost and advancing initiatives in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, PLUS scholarships provide renewable four-year scholarships valued at $2, 000 a year, and come with them academic and social mentoring and support to increase these students’ opportunities for success. First-year retention rates and six-year graduation rates for PLUS students have been consistently higher than their university-wide peers.

2007:

In support of the College of Human Sciences’ mission to educate socially responsible global citizens, the Bruno Family, through the Joseph S. Bruno Charitable Foundation, endowed the Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy program. This endowment enhanced previous generous support received from Dick ’48 (mechanical engineering) and Marjorie Quina, Charles and Beth Anderson, and J. Smith and Betty Lanier, whose early gifts made such study abroad opportunities in the college possible. Through the program, students participate in an integrated, semester-long course of study in Ariccia, Italy, where they examine quality of life issues affecting individuals, families, and communities from a global perspective while earning academic credit toward an international minor in human sciences for undergraduates or an individualized course of study for graduate students.

2007:

Established through estate gifts, a scholarship endowment named for Roy L. Farish ’50 (business administration) and his wife Wilda in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business has provided scholarships to nearly 30 students annually since it was fully endowed.

2007:

EBSCO Industries Inc.’s $1.5 million gift created the Learning Commons in the Ralph B. Draughon Library. The positive reception led EBSCO to commit an additional $1.5 million in support to the Libraries in 2014.

2007:

The Raymond J. Harbert College of Business received its largest single outright gift at the time from Raymond ’82 (industrial management) and Kathryn ’81 (public administration) Harbert. Their $5 million commitment endowed the Raymond J. Harbert Eminent Scholar Chair in the Department of Finance. A portion of this gift also established and renovated existing lab space for the new T.I.G.E.R. Lab, a state-of-the-art investment and trading classroom for our students equipped with real-time stock and trading information, as well as Bloomberg Terminals with simulation financial software.

2007:

Through an estate gift from Marian Shelton ’72 (business administration), between 15 and 20 students in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business have received scholarships from the Marian Shelton Quasi Endowment for Scholarships each year since the endowment was fully funded.

2007:

William Page Molette ’27 and his wife Ruth bequeathed their entire $2.7 million estate to Auburn University. Per William Molette’s wishes, the estate was designated for scientific research in Auburn University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM). A portion of the gift was used to establish the Molette Biology Laboratory for Environmental and Climate Change Studies. Another portion of the Molette estate gift was used to create the Ruth W. Molette Professorship which was used to recruit a stellar professor and department chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry. Additional funds from the Molette estate gift were used to support laboratory enhancements and provided some funding for the Ebola research and other antivirals now moving along in the lab for drug discovery in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

2007:

A $2.8 million commitment from Dr. Ann Draughon Cousins ’54 (bachelor’s degree, art; doctor of humane letters, 1993), the daughter of Ralph B. Draughon, who served as president of Auburn University from 1947 to 1965, allowed the College of Liberal Arts’ Caroline Marshall Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities to restore historic Pebble Hill and sustain its programming. Dr. Cousins honored her mother, Caroline Marshall Draughon, by creating with a portion of her gift the Caroline Marshall Draughon Endowed Fund for Excellence to support the center’s public engagement and humanities programming. In recognition of this transformational gift to the college, Auburn renamed the center in honor of Caroline Marshall Draughon.

2008:

Joe McMillan ’58 (chemical engineering) began service as board chair of the Auburn University Foundation through 2009. Auburn University Vice President for Development Jeffrey McNeill was elected as the foundation’s president and served until 2010.

2008:

Launched publicly in 2006, It Begins at Auburn concluded after exceeding its $500 million goal by more than 21 percent.

2008:

Scholarship funding for Auburn students who have served their country with honor or their dependents came through a gift to the Office of Enrollment Services from the Auburn Veterans Scholarship Foundation — a partnership between the City of Auburn and the Auburn Veterans Committee. The Auburn Veterans Endowed Scholarship is awarded to current or incoming students currently residing in the city of Auburn and who are or have served in any branch of the U.S. military; or the dependent of a current or past U.S. military service member and have graduated from a high school in Lee County.

2009:

In support of Auburn’s strategic goals to increase diversity among its undergraduates, Wachovia Foundation made a historic-level contribution to fund the Provost Leadership Undergraduate Scholarship (PLUS) Program.

2009:

Lila White of Tempe, Ariz., began funding graduate assistantships in 2009 after previously making several major philanthropic gifts to Auburn. Lila, who is an Iowa State alumna and hold a master’s degree from the University of Alabama, has sponsored at least 12 graduate students with gifts exceeding $125,000. She supported students in the Graduate School pursuing degrees in kinesiology, adult education, and secondary education in the College of Education; a master’s of public administration in the College of Liberal Arts; and nursing degrees in the School of Nursing. Other donors inspired by the Lila White fellows decided to contribute to the Lila White assistantship fund, resulting in at least five additional fellowships awarded to students in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

2009:

A $1.6 million estate gift from U.S. Army Lt. Col. Henry Earl Turner was divided among the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy programs that comprise Auburn’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program. His gift, which was bequeathed in appreciation for ROTC’s students, faculty, and programs, created an endowed fund for excellence to give the leaders of each program financial resources to meet emerging opportunities or critical needs.

2009:

A gift from David Gilliland ’76 provided the Harrison School of Pharmacy with significant support for the school’s efforts to retain and recruit high-quality faculty. His contribution created seven new endowed professorships, thereby enhancing the school’s academic and research initiatives by recognizing outstanding faculty. After completing a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy in 1976, Gilliland went on to obtain a master’s in nuclear pharmacy and a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Oklahoma. During his professional career, he established 15 nuclear pharmacies and two medical cyclotron facilities, including Geodax Imaging, a medical imaging company focused on developing nuclear medicine imaging, and positron emission tomography imaging.

2010's

2010:

Board chair Joe McMillian joined Dr. Don Logan as co-vice chairs of the foundation board for the calendar year. Logan holds two degrees from Auburn: a bachelor’s degree in science and mathematics, which he completed in 1966, and a doctor of science degree, which he completed in 1997.

2010:

Launched in 2008, the Professorship Initiative campaign created 95 new endowed professorships.

2010:

Former Auburn basketball star and NBA legend Charles Barkley established the Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professorships to support underrepresented minority professors with superior credentials in teaching, research, and service in their disciplines, and a demonstrated commitment to promoting diversity.

2010:

Irene Mason, the widow of Auburn veterinary graduate Dr. Ted Mason ’40, generously provided more than $5 million to Auburn during her lifetime and through her estate, with the majority of those funds benefiting the College of Veterinary Medicine’s large animal program. Her funds were used toward scholarships for veterinary students, support of the Large Animal Clinic and the naming of the Orthopedic Service in the Wilford and Kate Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital. This name was in honor of Dr. Mason’s invention of the “mason splint” which he copyrighted early 1940’s

2010:

In 2010, the lack of student project display space for the interior design program students was identified as a pressing need. Interior Design Advisory Board member Steve Adair facilitated the donation of display wall panels from Andy Anderson at Accutrack systems valued at $64, 000. This served as the impetus for the Interior Design Advisory Board to work with industry partners in collaboration with Auburn University Facilities on the renovation/establishment of the teaching resource room, MAC Lab, and on the current Working Office Labs project (valued at over $250,000) which has yielded the renovation and furnishing of 8 faculty offices, the department office, the dean’s office, and graduate student offices. These spaces serve as active office environments showcasing current developments in ergonomics, productivity, sustainability and creativity in workplace design; and will serve as models for vendor specific product specification training for interior design students. The upgrades and space improvements will enhance our competitiveness in recruiting Interior Design students for this nationally ranked program.

2010:

Education graduate R. Wayne McElrath ’52 designated to the College of Education a portion of his previously made estate gift to Auburn. This portion of his total $6 million commitment, valued at $1.2 million, provides additional support to the R. Wayne McElrath Endowment Fund for Scholarships in Agriscience Education. Once realized, this commitment will enhance the endowment which Mr. McElrath has also generously funded with outright gifts through the years.

2010:

An anonymous donor contributed a $25, 000 gift to establish the Kathie Little Mattox Endowed Fund for Excellence in honor of Ms. Kathie Little Mattox.  Mattox has served with the Honors College since the program’s beginning in 1983. This endowment provided the Honors College with its largest form of discretionary funding and has funded student research, travel, conferences, and scholarships. The endowment has increased in value to $95,000, as numerous alumni and friends of the Honors College continue to support this endowment, largely due to their love of Ms. Mattox, in addition to the Honors College.

2011:

Dr. Don Logan continues his service to the foundation board of directors as chair and serves in this capacity through 2012.

2011:

With an initial gift of $30, 000 from the Kam family, the Auburn University Division of Student Affairs endowed the Fred A. and Charlene Y. Kam Family Fund for Excellence to support student leadership activities in the Division of Student Affairs including Leadershape, Auburn’s premier leadership development program. Through their generosity, students can travel to the WinShape retreat center in Rome, Ga. and participate in a six-day experience where they learn to lead with integrity. The Leadershape curriculum will take students on a journey of self-discovery and leadership that includes identification of passions and values, development of a powerful vision, and commitment to action.

2011:

With their gifts of $100, 000 each, ALFA and the Alabama Power Foundation led the way in establishing the Auburn University Research Alliance (AURA).  Supporting the full mission of the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, these donors have strategically enhanced research activity across all schools and colleges at Auburn with the goal of moving Auburn to the forefront of research prestige.  Their belief in Auburn’s core research mission is fostering the interdisciplinary work necessary to face today’s complex challenges and provide tomorrow’s answers.

2011:

John and Rosemary Brown, both 1957 Auburn graduates, made a $10 million lead gift toward construction of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Bailey Small Animal Teaching Hospital honoring their longtime friendship with former Auburn president Wilford Bailey and his wife Cratus “Kate.” John Brown was CEO and chairman of the board of Stryker Corporation, a leading medical device company. Rosemary Brown retired after serving as a mathematics teacher for almost 30 years.

2011:

In addition to funding scholarships and professorships, the Charles Barkley Foundation has been instrumental with programmatic support for a summer bridge program that recruits top students from Spelman and Morehouse to the Auburn University School of Kinesiology. The program has been successful and has increased diversity at Auburn University.

2011:

Mrs. Frances Pick Dillard gifted the Halliday-Cary-Pick House and much of its contents to the College of Human Sciences. Built in the 1840s, the Halliday-Cary-Pick House is the second oldest house in Auburn. The house became the home of the Cary Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies.

2012:

Douglas ’82 and Lisa Kilton of New Orleans made a $25, 000 outright gift to provide supportive funding for students applying for National Prestigious Scholarships. This contribution created opportunities for students to receive provisions for travel purposes, mock interviews, lodging, and more as they pursue these scholarships. As an Auburn University Fulbright Scholarship recipient himself, Doug felt compelled to support an area that made such an incredible impact in his own life. This is the first and only fund within the Honors College that provides programmatic support specifically for our National Prestigious Scholars. It has gained widespread support among other alumni and donors who share a passion to see Auburn students succeed as National Prestigious Scholars.

2012:

In Fall 2012, the Birmingham Urban Revitalization Partnership gifted the Harris Early Learning Center (HELC) in Birmingham to Auburn University. This gift valued at $6.4 million, includes the building and contents, as well as an endowment for general maintenance provided by long-term support from Alabama Power. Auburn faculty originally helped design the center, as well as create a curriculum to educate and foster developing social and practical skills. The center is named for Elmer and Glenda Harris, an Auburn University couple and early childhood education advocates who led the effort to obtain corporate sponsorship to build the center. The center has evolved into a model program for early childhood development and education. The center continues to serve as an internship site for students in a variety of disciplines.

2012:

Through a generous gift from Sally and Dwight L. Wiggins Jr. ’62 and ’67, the home of the Department of Mechanical Engineering was named the Dwight L. Wiggins Mechanical Engineering Hall in honor of Wiggins’ father, Dwight L. Wiggins Sr. The facility provides a central location for administration and faculty offices, as well as state-of-the-art laboratories designed to enhance instruction and advance emerging research initiatives.

2012:

Lee Spruiell ’83 donated $500, 000 to establish the Lee Spruiell Annual Fund for Excellence in the College of Liberal Arts’ Health Services Administration Program. The Lee Spruiell Annual Fund for Excellence will expand international internship opportunities for students, provide support for research, and for faculty and student travel to professional meetings, as well as necessary programming.

2012:

Jane DiFolco Parker, Auburn’s vice president for development, was elected by the board as foundation president.

2013:

Jeffrey Stone served as chair of the foundation board of directors through 2014. Stone completed a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Auburn in 1979.

2013:

AUF authorizes the Because This is Auburn campaign with an anticipated goal of $1 billion and public launch scheduled for 2015.

2013:

Raymond and Kathryn Harbert’s $40 million gift transformed business education at Auburn and led to the naming of the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business.

2013:

Jim Spearman created an annual fellowship with a multi-year pledge in the School of Kinesiology that attracts students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The fellowships are intended to reward deserving students and promote fairness and equality.

2013:

The Auburn University Foundation concludes Fiscal Year 2013 having received more than $147.6 million in gifts and commitments, thereby becoming Auburn’s most successful fundraising year in the foundation’s history.

2013:

The Estate of Norma Triplett established the J. W. Triplett Endowed Scholarship in the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business in honor and memory of Mrs. Triplett’s husband, J. William Triplett, in August. Contributions from Norma Triplett’s estate totaled $1,194,664.51.

2013:

Auburn University Libraries’ Special Collections received $100, 000 from the B.H. Breslauer Foundation and Auburn alumna Carroll Stickland ’65 to acquire the Hampton Roads Peace Conference Papers. President Abraham Lincoln sought an end to the Civil War at the 1865 Hampton Roads Peace Conference.

2013:

Thomas P. ’72 and Marsha C. Powell ’74 of Atlanta made a planned gift totaling $2 million ($1 million each) to the College of Education and the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. These funds for excellence provide support in a variety of areas, including scholarships, fellowships, support for faculty, and much more.

2013:

The market value of Auburn’s endowment exceeded $500 million for the first time.

2014:

The Foy Society formed to recognize donors for their loyal support through consecutive-year giving.

2014:

The College of Education received a pledge of $5 million toward a building fund for the college.

2014:

Walter S. (Walt) ’69 and ’77 and Virginia E. (Ginger) Woltosz made a $10.55 million gift to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the second-largest gift in its history. In recognition, the Auburn University Board of Trustees voted to name engineering’s central research facility the Woltosz Engineering Research Laboratory.

2014:

Linda ’76 and Terry McCartney ’75 established The New Day Endowed Scholarship in the Division of Student Affairs through an initial gift of $25, 000. The scholarship benefits orphan, foster child, ward of the court, ward of the state, emancipated minor, or homeless students. Funds from this scholarship are to be used to help fill in the gap between what the student might receive from financial aid, including grants and loans, work study programs, and any other scholarships, and the cost of total attendance at Auburn. The McCartneys later made a bequest of $3.5 million to provide additional support to the New Day Endowed Scholarship.

2014:

Heather and John Shemilt donated $10, 000 to support the new Student Success Fund in the Division of Student Affairs. This fund provides support for students with financial hardships that negatively impact their academic success and retention at Auburn.  Through the Office of Student Advocacy & Case Management, funds can be requested by students in need of assistance with basic needs such as: food, clothing, shelter, living expenses, academic fees, medical expenses, and/ or transportation costs.  The Shemilts generous gift has  inspired other donors such as Shirley and Barry Daniel to establish the Tyler Barrett Daniel Endowed Fund for Excellence in Student Affairs. Funds generated from this initial gift of $25,000 shall be used to support the Student Success Fund in Student Affairs.

2014:

Fiscal year gifts and commitments exceeded $150 million for the first time.

2014:

Alabama Power Company Foundation honored retiring APCO president and CEO Charles McCrary by donating $10 million to create the Charles D. McCrary Institute, focused on energy security and conservation research.

2015:

Thomas Gossom Jr. was elected as the foundation’s first African-American board chair.

2015:

Auburn University publicly launched its fourth comprehensive fundraising effort, Because This is Auburn: A Campaign for Auburn University, from Pat Dye Field in Jordan-Hare Stadium prior to the kickoff of the 2015 A-Day game. At that time, donors had contributed $775 million, the largest amount raised to date through an Auburn fundraising campaign, toward its historic $1 billion goal.

2015:

John and Rosemary Brown donated $57 million to fund a new performing arts center and an engineering student achievement center. The gift was Auburn’s largest to date.