Community's gifts to Purdue campaign top $28 million

February 16, 2005

Community's gifts to Purdue campaign top $28 million

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University officials today (Wednesday, Feb. 16) announced gifts totaling more than $1 million from Lafayette-West Lafayette community leaders for the $1.5 billion Campaign for Purdue.

Spurgeon Golf Training Center
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Purdue President Martin C. Jischke made the announcement during a breakfast with community executives at the Holiday Inn Select in downtown Lafayette. The gifts bring the total raised by the community to more than $28.3 million.

"I am always appreciative of the support for our university, especially from the people who know it best – our neighbors in Lafayette-West Lafayette," Jischke said. "By every measure, this community is one of the most economically sound in the state, and also extremely generous. Together we have created a climate for education, economic development, research and the arts that is quite remarkable."

Ellin Oliver-Keene
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Chemical engineering Professor Joseph Pekny, director of the e-Enterprise Center in Discovery Park, was the guest speaker at the breakfast. His topic was "Discovery Park as an Engine for Innovation."

The following have pledged or given support to the Campaign for Purdue:

• Cinergy Foundation Inc. – $23,000. Of that, $20,000 is pledged over three years to support the Cinergy Keynote Presenters, an integral part of the College of Education's Summer Literacy Institute. The institute is one of several professional development efforts provided by the Purdue Literacy Network Project, an outgrowth of the Reading Recovery Program, which was established in 1993.

**Maribeth Schmitt**

"This past summer, during the institute's fourth annual three-day conference, 400 K-6th grade teachers from across Indiana were exposed to literacy education," said Maribeth Schmitt, director of the Purdue Literacy Network Project and a professor of literacy and language education. "The program curriculum included new research-based methods for teaching reading, language arts and writing, and teachers learned how to incorporate them into the classrooms."

The rest of the Cinergy gift, $3,000, will support the college's High School Leadership Seminar. Wendell Seaborne, customer relations manager of Cinergy Corp.'s Lafayette office, represented the foundation at the event.

**Wendell Seaborne**

Cinergy employs almost 300 Purdue alumni. Overall giving to Purdue is more than $560,000, much of that in support of scholarships and Convocations, with an additional $840,000 in sponsored research.

• Gary and Connie Standiford Family – $50,000 challenge gift. The Standifords have pledged to match dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000, gifts made to the Agricultural Alumni Association. The Standifords, of Tippecanoe County, own SDF Farms. Their gift is in addition to $73,000 in earlier support for the university. Gary is a 1960 graduate of Purdue's College of Agriculture.

• FuturaGene Inc. – $904,000 gift for the Purdue Department of Horticulture. FuturaGene is a biotechnology company that is developing ways to grow crops in extremely unfavorable conditions.
Bruno Ruggiero

The company graduated last month from the Purdue Research Park incubator system, where it started operations four years ago. FuturaGene is now located the park's Vistech 1, a privately owned building located at 1435 Win Hentschel Blvd. Futura's Bruno Ruggiero, the company's president and chief executive officer, is expected to attend the breakfast.

In 2001 the company was formed from a joint research venture among scientists at three American universities – Purdue, the University of Arizona and the University of Illinois. Two of the four principal scientists involved with FuturaGene are Ray Bressan, a distinguished professor of plant physiology, and Professor Paul Hasegawa, both in the Department of Horticulture.

**Marta Zgagacz**

"Now, FuturaGene has moved to larger offices to support the increased activities, to accommodate new executive employees and directors, and to support the amazing growth it has experienced in the last few years," Ruggiero said. "Following the interest of several companies and institutional investors, FuturaGene also merged with and took over a company on the London Stock Exchange in June."

• Jay G. and Rita K. Smith, of 1909 Shenandoah Court, are responsible for three gifts totaling $28,000. Of that, $15,000 for the Spurgeon Indoor Golf Training Center is from MBAH Insurance, in honor of that company's former president Ralph "Buffy" Mayerstein, who is now is chairman of MBAH. The Smiths also have given a $10,000 personal gift for the center. The Smiths also recently gave $3,000 for athletic scholarships at Purdue. MBAH, which has served the community for more than 80 years, is located on Duncan Road and Sagamore Parkway. Jay Smith is MBAH's president and chief executive officer and earned his bachelor's degree from Purdue's School of Management in 1983.

Jay Smith was an inaugural member of the Purdue Athletics Advisory Council, a group of former student-athletes formed to offer advice and counsel to Intercollegiate Athletics staff and coaches, and he served on that council from 1994 to 2000. He was named All-Big Ten in 1983 and was the top golfer on the squad that year. He also has won the Lafayette city golf tournament.

Buffy Mayerstein and his wife, Alice, travel the country in support of collegiate golf. They have been instrumental in helping organize and recruit volunteers for NCAA, Big Ten and youth tournaments at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex.

Construction on the $2.72 million indoor training facility – being paid for through gift funds – is under way, and completion is expected this fall.

The 11,400-square-foot center will include an indoor putting green, a swing-analysis video computer system and multiple heated hitting bays, as well as team locker rooms, a lounge, coaches' offices, a pro shop and a classroom. The architectural design will be similar to the clubhouse and other facilities at the complex. When not in use by Purdue golf teams, the center will be open to the public.

The Campaign for Purdue seeks to raise funds to support student scholarships; recruitment and retention of faculty; and programs, centers, and facilities.

Chairs for the community campaign are Linda Rohrman and Joe Seaman, president of Bank One.

There also are four honorary co-chairpersons for the community campaign: Barbara F. Kampen, Bennet R. and Maxine R. Miller, and James Shook. The remainder of the community campaign committee includes Anthony S. Benton, James Bodenmiller, Jerry A Brand, G. Bart Burrell, William F. Connors, Jim R. and Marilynn Dammon, Frederick R. Ford, Robert L. Griffiths, Robert E. Hannemann, Gary D. Henriott, Mary Ann Junius, Peter T. Kissinger, Gary J. Lehman, Betty M. Nelson, Sandra H. Pearlman, Robert C. Reiling Jr., E. Dana Smith Jr., Jay G. Smith, and Charles R. Vaughan.

Writer: Jeanne V. Norberg, (765) 494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu

Sources: Murray Blackwelder, senior vice president for advancement, (765) 496-2144, mblackwelder@purdue.edu

Cheryl Altinkemer, senior director of development in charge of community campaign, (765) 494-8218, caltinkemer@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: You are invited to attend the breakfast, which will begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday (Feb. 16) at Holiday Inn Select in downtown Lafayette. Please contact Jeanne Norberg to ensure a mult box and breakfast are available for your reporters.

Cinergy gift:
Steven Shelby, associate director, corporate relations, (765) 494-0572, sshelby@purdue.edu

Professor Maribeth Scmitt, (765) 494-45683, mschmitt@purdue.edu

Wendell Seaborne, office: (765) 423-9829; home: (765) 420-7580, wseaborne@cinergy.com

Purdue Literacy Network Project

Standiford gift:
Mike Irvin, director of development, College of Agriculture, (765) 494-8672, mirvin1@purdue.edu

Donya Lester, executive secretary, Purdue Ag Alumni Association, (765) 494-8593, lesterd@purdue.edu

Gary and Connie Standiford, Florida home, (239) 498-9137

Agricultural Alumni Association Inc.

FuturaGene gift:
Douglas Mayo, director of corporate relations, College of Agriculture, (765) 494- 8672, dmayo@purdue.edu

Marta Zgagacz, FuturaGene Inc. chief operations officer, (765) 497-7299, marta@futuragene.com

FuturaGene Inc.