$2.5M Gift Launches OSU Scholarship Designed to Secure Oklahoma's Future Endowment benefits state by rewarding graduates who stay in Oklahoma
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
If OSU graduates remain and work in Oklahoma after graduation, this scholarship, which can be awarded in an amount up to $25,000, will pay off a portion each year for five years of their loans associated with tuition and fees. The award encourages graduates to stay in Oklahoma and will benefit both the state workforce quality and supply. This can have a positive impact for state businesses, and will now give them an advantage in their recruiting efforts when competing against employers in other states that are having success luring OSU graduates away.
The $2.5 million lead endowment gift came from David and Tracy Kyle of Tulsa whose gift kick-started the scholarship effort. The gift will be further leveraged by the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, a program created by alumnus T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million challenge grant. Once fully funded by the Kyles and Pickens’ match, the endowment will be $7.5 million and create an annual impact of $375,000.
As the former CEO of ONEOK, David is familiar with the quality of employee that comes from Oklahoma – and how important it is for local companies to attract and keep those employees. The Kyles hope other Oklahomans and Oklahoma businesses choose to join them in giving to the program.
“For many years we have been told that the better jobs are out of state,” said David, who retired as CEO in 2007 but is still chairman of the board. “We believe Oklahoma is a great state with just as much to offer, has a great quality of life, and lots of opportunity. This scholarship program should help us compete--Oklahoma companies win, the state wins, and, just as importantly, OSU graduates win.”
OSU President Burns Hargis called this gift “very creative and generous!”
“Tracy and David know the tremendous need many students have in meeting the cost of a college degree and the burden that enormous debt is on graduates who have to borrow the necessary funds,” Hargis said. “And, they know the tremendous need for college graduates in the Oklahoma workforce. So, they have made this wonderful gift which relieves this considerable debt burden and increases the number of graduates working in the state.”
David Kyle serves as vice chair of the OSU Foundation’s Board of Trustees, so he and Kirk Jewell, OSU Foundation president and CEO, frequently discuss the best ways to advance the $1 billion Branding Success campaign. Jewell says he is delighted and amazed with this gift and the way the Kyles have sought to benefit students while also adding such a positive incentive to keep OSU’s best graduates in Oklahoma.
“When you consider this is a multi-million dollar endowment, the impact is both incredible and in perpetuity,” Jewell said. “This scholarship will provide hundreds of thousands of dollars of annual student support, and the benefit for the state will be beyond significant. It will encourage the next generation of graduates to stay here and improve Oklahoma.”
David, a 1974 OSU industrial engineering graduate, was working for ONEOK division Oklahoma Natural Gas Company when he earned his master’s in business administration at night by taking advantage of an ONG program that helped pay for his education. With his continued employment at the company, his tuition, books, and fees were paid by ONG. His employer’s investment obviously paid off as he climbed the corporate ladder. Now he is helping future generations start their careers at Oklahoma companies.
“We wanted to create an opportunity where we could help a group of students who could not attend college without a loan,” David says. “It’s been said, ‘From those to whom much is given, much is required,’ and we are grateful that, with Boone Pickens’ help, this scholarship program will have a lasting impact on generations of future Oklahomans.”
For information on how you can contribute to the OSU Scholarship for Oklahoma’s Future or take advantage of the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, contact the OSU Foundation at info@OSUgiving.com or 800-622-4678.
Endowed scholarships leave a lasting impact at Oklahoma State by balancing current spending of investment return with the reinvestment of return to ensure support of students into the future.
The Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match was initiated on Feb. 26 at the Branding Success campaign launch event where T. Boone Pickens pledged a $100 million matching gift opportunity for donations or pledges of at least $50,000 to scholarship endowments before Feb. 26, 2011, or the matching funds are exhausted. Planned gifts are also eligible for a match. For more information on the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match, visit OSUgiving.com/PickensMatch.