October 1985. pag84
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Andrea HoySower I 5 - i
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The Legislature's
responsibility is to pro
vide an adequate univer
sity. We provide that
extra excellence."
Edward Hirsch, NU Foundation
vice-president
Bookbags slung over their shoulders, students racing to
class ignore Mueller Tower as it chimes 25 after the hour.
Next door, class after class of Nebraska grade school
children leave Morrill Hall with sore necks from staring up f
at the 30-foot stuffed elephants. And across campus, a
couple wandering through Sheldon Art Gallery stops to blow
on the Ca lder mobile and watch it move.
MTM srmti
UNL facilities paid for in whole or in part
by money donated through the NU
Foundation:
1. Memorial Stadium
2. Sheldon Art Gallery
3. Broyhiil Fountain
4. Mueller Planetarium and other ex
hibits In Morrill Hall.
5. Coliseum
6. Temple Building
7. Mueller Tower
8. Love Library and Its landscaping
9. Buck Beltzer baseball field
10. Alumni Center
11. Miskall Organ in the music school
Not shown on map:
Nebraska Center for Continuing Edu
cation Physical plant
Hewit Training Table
By Diana Johnson and
Jonathan Taylor
7" That ties these three situations to
( gether is the money that made
Vf each scene possible. The Tower,
V Broyhill Fountain, the Ralph Mueller
planetarium and other exhibits in Elephant Hall
are among the many campus buildings and
ornaments funded by private donations.
UNL, UNO and the NU Medical Center receive
about 20,000 gifts, grants and donations each
year, bringing about 12 million tax-deductible
dollars into the university system annually.
Most of the gifts come from corporations and
the estates of school alumni. Additional dona
tions are given by other foundations, individuals
and organizations. The bulk of the gifts are not
unusual: cash, property, artwork. Others, such as
cars and livestock, stray slightly from the norm.
But whether it be a horse or a check, most of
the gifts, per NU Board of Regents' request, are
channeled through the University of Nebraska
Foundation. Established in 1936, the Foundation
has but one function, which is something similar
to a year-round Jerry Lewis telethon.
"Our only purpose is to solicit, receive and
manage private support for the university sys
tem," said Edward Hirsch, executive vice presi
dent and secretary for the Foundation.
The Foundation does not raise money to
replace tax money not allocated from the state,
Hirsch said. Instead, part of the Foundation's
responsibility is to maintain the quality of excel
lence at the three campuses.
"The Legislature's responsibility is to provide
an adequate university," Hirsch said. "We pro
vide that extra excellence."
Examples of these excellence pro-ams include
franchise studies and the mass spectrometer lab
in the chemistry department, he said
The people behind the Foundation's pursuit of
excellence include 24 paid full time staff members
who manage everything from raising money to
secretarial and legal work. There is also a Board
of Trustees made up of 450 volunteers across the
country. The Board of Trustees meets annually in
the fall.
Finally, an 18-member volunteer Board of
Directors supervises the activities of the Founda
tion which are carried out by six standing com
mittees, Hirsch said. Salaries for the paid
employees come from an endowment investment
fund that started when the Foundation began, he
said, rather than from donations intended for the
university.
The directors, all NU graduates, hold positions
as corporate executives, homemakers, business
owners, lawyers and physicians throughout the
state. An assortment of 13 NU officials and
alumni association members, of which only eight
vote, also sit on the board.
With more than 200,000 alumni from the
three campuses, the nine-member solicitation
committee has its work cut out. But fundraising
efforts such as mailings and phone drives, Hirsch
said, have been successful to the point that the
Foundation is expecting $1-2 million more in
gifts this year than last year.
Money is donated at such a rate, he said, that
the Foundation contributes about $5-7 million to
the university in one year. It used to take up to
four years to raise the same amount, he said. This
makes the NU Foundation the top money-raiser
in the Big Eight, he said
About 97 percent of the gifts the Foundation
receives have their uses designated by the
donors, Hirsch said. These are called "restricted
gifts." The Foundation, acting as trustee, divides
the gifts among 3,000 different Foundation
funds, according to which campus, college and
department the gifts are slated for. Hie gifts
include everything from research money to scho
larships, Hirsch said.
The approximately $1.5 million in remaining
gifts which areunrestricted, are distributed by