HUNTSMAN GIVES USU BUSINESS SCHOOL $26 MILLION
By Wendy Leonard
Deseret News, UT
Dec 4 2007
LOGAN – Utah State University hopes to become more competitive after
accepting its largest-ever donation of $26 million from Jon M.
Huntsman Sr., also naming the school of business after the successful
entrepreneur and philanthropist.
The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business will focus on building
ethical leadership and entrepreneurship among its faculty and student
enrollment, enhancing their global vision and developing financial
and quantitative analysis programs, a prominent focus for Huntsman,
said Douglas Anderson, dean of USU’s business school.
"The Huntsman money is not intended for bricks and mortar," he said,
noting that the George S. Eccles Business Building – housed within
the Huntsman School of Business – is slated for summer renovation.
The announcement was made Monday afternoon to more than 500 of
Huntsman’s friends and family, including leaders in higher education
as well as lawmakers and government officials, gathered at the Taggart
Student Center at USU. President Boyd K. Packer, a general authority
in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and USU alumnus,
encouraged those who distribute the generous donation to remember
the students.
"Cause it to be aimed at the student, the ever-valuable student,"
he said. "Its influence is best measured in the lives of those who
come here to study."
One million dollars of the donation will be set aside to provide
scholarships to students in order to "attract the best in the region,"
Anderson said. The gift comes at the heels of more than $300 million
the Huntsman family has already invested in education.
Huntsman previously funded USU’s Huntsman Environmental Research
Center and the David B. Haight Alumni Center. Earlier this year, he
contributed $850,000 to fund 13 four-year scholarships for students
from Armenia to attend USU. He has long had ties to Armenia, areas
of which were devastated by an earthquake in 1988.
"This gift has given the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
an opportunity to achieve its own distinct place among the finest
schools in the country," said USU President Stan Albrecht. The Logan
school plans to foster a partnership with the Wharton School at the
University of Pennsylvania, Huntsman’s alma mater as well as the
recipient of a $40 million gift from Huntsman in 1997, used to build
the international studies program there.
Former Wharton Dean Thomas P. Garrity said USU now has the great
privilege of not only garnering the Huntsman name, but the values of
a man who is "known for his vision, integrity and humanity."
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. told the crowd that his father has "looked
to this day for a very, very long time." He said students need not
only the rigor of classroom study, but role models to pattern their
lives after.
"I am thrilled that my father will bring priorities to this school
that he has long stood for," he said. A strong sense of ethics, Gov.
Huntsman said, is what has helped his father to be successful in
business. "Nowhere is this more important than in the business
community."
Anderson said the gift could not have come at a better time.
"The college of business has become a professional school of
distinction, a career accelerator for our students, and an engine of
growth for the state and region," he said. "Jon and Karen Huntsman are
investing in this school at a time when we have tremendous momentum
and our relationship with them can only accelerate our progress. The
Huntsman name stands for excellence and integrity. We are proud to
have their name linked with ours."
Not since 1916 has the university had so many state and religious
leaders on campus, Anderson said. Monday’s announcement not only
brought President Packer, but also Elders Joseph B. Wirthlin and M.
Russell Ballard and USU alumnus Elder L. Tom Perry, all of whom are
members of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the Twelve.
"Truly this school of business, on this beautiful and unique campus,
should strive to teach not only the latest, state-of-the-art business
practices, but the implication of ethics in all of its forms, to ensure
that each graduate is a man or woman of unquestioned integrity,"
Huntsman Sr. said. In addition to ethical instruction, he hopes his
namesake college teaches and leaves students with a sincere respect
for human dignity.
The USU College of Business graduated eight students at its first
commencement in 1894. It currently offers 13 undergraduate majors,
eight master’s degrees and two doctorate degree programs. Enrollment
for the college includes 16 doctoral students, 296 master’s students
and 1,545 undergraduates.
"At the end of the day, our character, together with our charity,
will determine our destiny," Huntsman Sr. said. Such traits, he said,
will be important both at the forefront of the business world and in
each individual life.
Recent big gifts to schools
~U $26 million, Jon M. Huntsman Sr., to Utah State University for
the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.
~U $20 million, family of Wallace Woodbury, to Utah Valley State
College business school – to be named the Woodbury School of Business.
~U $15 million, Marc and Debbie Bingham, to USU’s Uintah Basin campus
for an Entrepreneurship and Energy Resource Center.
~U $20 million, ALSAM Foundation, to the University of Utah College
of Pharmacy, for a building to be named after L.S. "Sam" Skaggs.
Photo: After announcing his donation to Utah State, Jon M. Huntsman
Sr. talks with Armenian student Armen Hovsepyan, who is at the school
through a Huntsman-funded scholarship.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
