MSU President's Newspaper Column
July 1, 2023
Support comes in various ways, impacting the future and a legacy of goodness
The MSU Foundation is just wrapping up the fiscal year, and while the final figures aren’t quite ready yet, the foundation is on track to set a record in annual giving for the third-straight year. As of June 26, $1,080,000 had been raised. Included in this amount are Farmers Bowl cash raffle proceeds, as well as Comet Athletic Club, White Hat Club, Ace Club, Lewy Lee Legends, Hoops Club, Comets Champions Club, Diamond Club, and Eagle Club memberships and fundraising proceeds.
That is a whole lot of generosity in a year, and we are grateful.
Mayville State University is blessed with extremely kind and thoughtful alumni and friends who support “The School of Personal Service.” Many Mayville State supporters assist with their financial contributions that help to make the Mayville State Experience possible for current and future students.
Volunteers are generous with their time and talents as they help with a variety of events and activities each year. Others promote the university through the various ways in which they share the news of the great opportunities for students at the university. Graduates who leave Mayville State University and are successful in their careers and communities are wonderful ambassadors.
No matter the platform, the generosity of alumni and friends ensures that the legacy of goodness for which Mayville State is known, and that has impacted lives for generations past, will continue to impact lives for generations to come. It all culminates in helping to provide the best possible experiences for students. In turn, those students graduate and go into the world, sharing the goodness they have come to know during their college experience.
The North Dakota Legislature has been extremely generous with Mayville State as well. During the last legislative session, Mayville State was allotted $52 million to renovate our beloved Old Main. This renovation is very much needed and will provide a safe and comfortable environment in which our students learn, faculty teach, and staff do their work. Preliminary work is being done through the remainder of this year and we expect that actual hands-on renovation work will begin next summer. Stay tuned for more information on this exciting project.
The legislature also provided for challenge grant funding for the next biennium. The State Board of Higher Education has been authorized to make $1.1 million in challenge grant funding available to Mayville State University in the next biennium. This represents a $400,000 increase from the $700,000 awarded in the current biennium.
The challenge grant allows Mayville State University to receive 50 cents in grant funding for every dollar contributed in academic scholarship funding from private non-state, non-federal sources. The challenge grant has been life-changing in its impact at Mayville State University and that impact will be accentuated in the coming months.
To be eligible for the newly allotted challenge grant funding, gifts must be received between July 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2024. If you’re interested in making a gift that will have a bigger bang for the buck because of challenge grant funding, please contact MSU Foundation Executive Director Dr. Lon Jorgensen at 701-788-4787 or lonny.jorgensen@mayvillestate.edu.
The North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Grant Fund was initiated by the 63rd legislative assembly. The program was designed to enhance North Dakota University System institutions and is intended to ignite a philanthropic spirit to support North Dakota colleges and universities.
No matter the source or the platform, we are genuinely grateful for the support we receive. Mayville State serves an important niche in providing opportunities in higher education for students who thrive in an environment where they are valued as individuals who get the attention they deserve. We thank the alumni, friends, faculty, staff, legislators, North Dakota University System, State Board of Higher Education, and all the people who help us to make it happen.