Gilliland, Advance Food Company, others give $288,500 for OSU professorship
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Gift will create position in microbial food safety
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The collaborative endowment was initiated by Gilliland, an OSU Regents Professor and
Sitlington Endowed Chair Holder in Food Microbiology, who donated the first $125,000
and challenged his fellow animal science faculty to contribute to the fund which generated
an additional $8,550. The Enid based Advance Food Company stepped forward to provide
$125,000 to fully endow the professorship. Additionally, Culture Systems, Inc. donated
$20,000 and Nutrition Physiology, Corp. donated $10,000. Gilliland currently leads
OSU in intellectual property residuals splitting what he earns with the university.
The gift will create the Advance Food Company/S.E. Gilliland Professorship in Microbial
Food Safety, which will be housed within the College of Agricultural Sciences and
Natural Resources.
“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations,”
said OSU President Burns Hargis. “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 Dr. Gilliland, Advance Food and all the others
who have endowed this important professorship, and we want to say a special thanks.”
In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the
most significant impact on OSU academics, the group made the gift prior to the July
1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program. This gift is part of the
$66.8 million in endowed faculty gifts OSU announced recently.
“I chose the area of lactic acid bacteria and microbial food safety because that is
the area that I spent most of my professional life studying,” said Gilliland. “The
lasting impact I would like to see is a funded mechanism for this type of research
to continue in the future. The research shall include the area of priobiotics and/or
lactic acid bacteria associated with dairy products, plus microbial food safety.”
“We want to support the food industry and also support the research that moves our
industry forward, and OSU proves to be a natural partner who can provide the momentum
and expertise necessary to drive these efforts,” said Mark Allen, Advance Food Company
President and a 1981 OSU finance graduate. “We’re hopeful our gift improves food
safety for the general public as well as serves as an economic driver for the State
of Oklahoma.”
Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council, said, “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. 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 which 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 the brightest academic minds in the world.