08-28-2006
Hodgkiss Bequest Will Endow Chair Created In Civil Engineering
Over many years, Donald and Nancy Hodgkiss have supported MSU in a variety of significant ways. Recently, they established an endowed chair in civil engineering via a charitable bequest of remaining retirement plan assets. It will be called The Donald and Nancy A. Hodgkiss Endowed Chair in Civil Engineering, and it is yet another meaningful manifestation of their enduring commitment to their alma mater.
The Hodgkiss fund is a substantial commitment to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Don (Engineering, '49) and Nancy (Education, '52) hope that the endowed chair might specifically focus on road and airport design and construction, but they have also stipulated that the endowment will be available for other areas of need related to civil engineering, providing the college with the greatest flexibility possible.
As Don and Nancy contemplated their future gift, they learned that the greatest need within the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering was endowed chairs. They also found that remaining retirement plan funds would be the most efficient asset that would enable them to remember the department in the manner they desired. Their gift will support a faculty position that focuses on civil infrastructure.
Because the fund is endowed, the principal will remain intact. Each year, only a portion of the available interest earned will be used to support the Hodgkiss Chair, while the remainder will be reserved and reinvested to grow the principal investment of the fund.
Endowments can be established to support chairs and professorships, graduate fellowships, student scholarships, study abroad initiatives, equipment and library supplies, and excellence funds that enable colleges to directly support the areas of greatest promise and need. They are also a wonderful way to secure the continuation of your name within the college or to honor or memorialize a loved one.
While all gifts contribute to the high quality of education, research, and service at MSU, endowments are particularly meaningful because they offer dependable, long-term sources of funding. Don and Nancy are very forward thinking in this regard, and their generosity will ultimately benefit students studying civil and environmental engineering for years to come.
If you would like more information about supporting the Hodgkiss Fund or creating your own endowment, contact College of Engineering Senior Director of Development Kris Bradley at (517) 355-8339 or kbradley@msu.edu.
