Oklahoma State receives $15 million gift commitment for student leadership scholarships from graduates Ross and Billie McKnight
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Branding Success Billion-Dollar Campaign for Oklahoma State University Passes the $650 Million Milestone
“This is a generous commitment from two of our beloved alumni who have a special passion to assist aspiring young men and women who have rural community backgrounds,” Hargis said. “As a result of this wonderful gift for rural student leadership scholarships, Oklahoma State further embraces an important aspect of our land-grant heritage to pursue students involved in exceptional programs such as 4-H and FFA in addition to the leadership opportunities available to all high school students in rural communities.”
The McKnights, of Throckmorton, Texas, also serve as co-chairs of the Branding Success campaign. Their gift commitment qualifies for a dollar-for-dollar match by the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match program. The match increases the value of the McKnights’ gift to $30 million, which will eventually produce $1.25 million annually for scholarships.
“Billie and I are pleased to make this commitment to our alma mater, Oklahoma State University,” Ross McKnight said. “Oklahoma State means so much to both of us. In addition to receiving an excellent education, we also met at OSU. Without Oklahoma State, Billie and I would not be where we are today. And, as students from rural communities, we discovered the same welcoming and friendly environment at OSU that we had experienced back home. To this day, we are both grateful to Oklahoma State, and we remember fondly members of the faculty and administration who took an interest in us and challenged us to be more than we thought we could be. This gift reflects our appreciation to OSU and our desire to help students from rural communities attend Oklahoma State where we are confident they will discover a path to success as we did.”
Ross and Billie met in 1971 at Oklahoma State when Ross was a senior and Billie was a freshman. As president of the Student Government Association, Ross selected himself as a judge for the Freshman Queen contest, in which Billie was a contestant. A ’71 animal science alumnus and ’73 general business alumna, they have remained loyal to their alma mater for more than 30 years. Their two children, Meggan and Trent, also graduated from Oklahoma State. Ross was inducted into the Oklahoma State Hall of Fame in 2006, received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1996 and was awarded the Graduate of Distinction of the Department of Animal Science in 1998.
The commitment establishes The McKnight Leader Scholars Scholarship Endowment to recruit up to 50 students annually from rural areas and smaller towns outside Oklahoma, primarily from the north Texas area where the McKnights live and manage their banking, energy, real estate and ranching businesses.
“Student scholarships are at the heart of our Branding Success campaign, representing $500 million of the billion-dollar total. This marvelous gift from the McKnights boosts our effort to meet that $500 million scholarship goal,” said OSU Foundation President and CEO Kirk Jewell. “We are deeply appreciative to Ross and Billie for their service as campaign co-chairs, as well as for this generous gift.”
National FFA President and OSU junior Riley Pagett of Woodward, Oklahoma, said the McKnights’ gift will attract excellent students to Oklahoma State. “Mr. and Mrs. McKnight embrace their rural roots and continue to live and thrive in a small community. Just as Oklahoma State helped develop them into the fine people they are today, it is doing likewise for myself and other students who grew up in rural communities and know the importance of keeping rural America alive,” Pagett added.
About the Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match
The Pickens Legacy Scholarship Match was announced on Feb. 26, 2010, at the Branding Success campaign launch event. As part of the program, T. Boone Pickens has pledged up to $100 million in matching gifts for donations or pledges of at least $50,000 that establish scholarship endowments and that are made before Feb. 26, 2011. Planned gifts are also eligible for a match.
About the Oklahoma State University Foundation and Oklahoma State University
The Oklahoma State University Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for Oklahoma State University. The Foundation’s mission is to unite the passions of donors with university priorities to achieve excellence.