$250,000 gift from California alumna creates Plant & Soil Science Professorship

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Oklahoma State University has received a $250,000 gift from OSU alumnus Helen J. Hodges to establish a plant and soil science professorship in honor of her parents, Dillon and Lois Hodges.

The position will concentrate on scholarship and research to increase grain production and is committed to ensuring that farmers worldwide can benefit from OSU’s expertise.

"It is my great pleasure to make this gift to honor my parents and ensure that OSU’s world-class expertise will help farmers sustain themselves and hopefully thrive," Hodges said. "My parents knew from experience the challenges that farmers face, and they would be thrilled if their legacy leads to advances in agriculture that help struggling farmers around the world."

Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gift will provide $1 million of impact in endowed funds. Hodges noted her appreciation for Pickens’ generous gift, which effectively quadruples her contribution.

“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations,” OSU President Burns Hargis said. “Inspired by Boone Pickens’ astounding generosity, donors answered the call to make a lasting difference and open a new and exciting chapter at OSU. We sincerely appreciate what Helen has done for the benefit of OSU academics and research and value this lasting way she has chosen to honor her parents.”

The gift will create the Dillon and Lois Hodges Professorship in Plant and Soil Sciences, located within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Hodges’ parents both graduated from Oklahoma A&M. Her mother, Lois (née Mayfield), graduated in 1940 with a degree in Home Economics. After graduating, Lois taught home economics and worked as a Home Demonstration Agent in northwest Oklahoma. In 1947, after serving in the Army, Dillon Hodges graduated from OSU with a degree in Agriculture. Lois and Dillon married on July 9, 1948 — exactly 60 years ago — and farmed in Major County for over 30 years, from 1952 until 1985, raising primarily cattle and wheat.

Helen J. Hodges received her Bachelor of Science in accounting from OSU in 1979. While attending OSU, she obtained her private pilot’s license and in 1980 was a member of OSU’s flying team, which won top honors at the National Intercollegiate Flying Association competition. Hodges became a certified public accountant in 1982 and received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1983, where she was the Managing Editor of the Law Review.

Hodges lives in San Diego, California, and is a senior managing partner at the world’s leading plaintiffs’ law firm, Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. Most notable among her many significant precedent-setting cases, Hodges oversaw the firm’s historic efforts to recover more than $7 billion for victims of the collapse of Enron, the most significant recovery ever obtained for victims of corporate fraud.

To take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, Hodges made the gift before the July 1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program. This gift is part of the $66.8 million endowed faculty gifts OSU announced recently.

"OSU is poised for growth and further prominence, but to realize its full potential, we must continue to attract and retain top scholars and researchers," said Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council. "These chairs highlight the important role that scholarship and teaching play at Oklahoma State University, and they are made possible through the generous support of donors who value excellence in scholarship and want to help OSU continue to nurture a strong faculty."

Endowed professorships and chairs are academic designations that provide support for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well as other support. These endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and retain the best and brightest academic minds in the world.