Report on Giving 2023
Innovators Educators
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Thank you for your support of faculty, the heart of the thriving academic community at the University of Minnesota Morris. UMN Morris delivers on the promise of a liberal arts and sciences education because of the expertise and knowledge of faculty, along with their commitment to teaching and research. On behalf of UMN Morris’s innovators and educators, who transform today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders, thank you for your generosity.
2023 Giving Highlights 86% of donations were designated to students 40% of donations were made by first-time donors Creation and partial funding of the new state-of-the-art Morris Cougar Golf Complex
Scholarship Aims to Help More Students Go to College—and Stay Alumnus and Distinguished Alumni Award Winner Michael Rodriguez ’87 knows first-hand how private giving can impact both students and faculty. He is both a scholarship donor and the beneficiary of faculty-focused giving. He established the Rodriguez RODRIGUEZ Resiliency Scholarship for first-year students at UMN Morris and is the Campbell Leadership Chair in Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities—an endowed faculty position—as well as the dean of the UMN Twin Cities College of Education and Human Development. His time at UMN Morris inspired Rodriguez to start the scholarship. He recalls that he was only able to go to college because of financial aid. “As a student at UMM in the 1980s, I was able to attend because of scholarship and financial support. Even as I progressed through graduate school, I continued to rely on scholarships to complete my degrees.” With the substantial increase in the cost of college attendance over the years, Rodriguez recognizes that more students are finding it difficult to not only go to college, but to stay in college and complete their degrees—especially those who face additional obstacles. Rodriguez believes that the students who have overcome the greatest challenges on their path to college are often the students with the greatest needs. “[They] also are among the most promising students, the students that have the most to offer,” he says. Rodriguez’s goal is to be able to continually increase his giving so that he can provide support to more students.
“There is so much untapped talent in the world—it is neglectful to not support as many students as we can, particularly those that want to pursue higher education,” he says. Rodriguez hopes that more students can get the Morris experience that he stayed for as a student—the vibrant student life, the quality academics and instruction, the wide range of student engagement opportunities, and the availability and accessibility of faculty. “[They] made my experience on campus so rewarding.” Rodriguez has heard from past scholarship recipients about how the scholarship has alleviated some of their financial pressures and is glad that the scholarship is making a difference. “If the resilience scholarship encourages just one student to attend UMM, then there is one more student who can achieve their dreams and develop their talents to do great work in the future,” says Rodriguez.
85% student support
2023 Gift Designations
11% faculty, staff, and program support 4% support for facilities
Zavada Is First Morton Gneiss Professor Michael Zavada was selected for the Morton Gneiss Professorship in Environmental Sciences, which began this fall—the first professorship of its kind at UMN Morris. “It’s an exciting prospect for me to do this, I’m jazzed up about it,” says Zavada. Named for the three-and-a half-billion-year-old bedrock beneath Minnesota, the Morton Gneiss professorship was funded by anonymous alumni donors. “We hope that by helping to hire an environmental sciences professor at UMN Morris, some terribly brilliant person will make an innovation or discover a complex relationship in nature that meaningfully mitigates climate change or helps humanity adapt to change.” Zavada admires the donors’ long-term thinking and their willingness to fund this position. “The donors support a position and a discipline that is important to the future and the quality of our existence,” says Zavada. Peh Ng, acting vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean, says this position will lead one of the nation’s premier environmental science programs at a public liberal arts college, manage new initiatives in curriculum development and research opportunities for the environmental science faculty and students, and create partnerships with UMN Morris and its surrounding communities on projects related to the environment. While his focus will be on enhancing the environmental science program at UMN Morris, Zavada recognizes the importance of being a point person for the interdisciplinary program. This is one of the many aspects of the position he looks forward to because of the
supportive connections between disciplines here. “That’s what’s good about this university.” Much of this position centers around conducting research with student participation. Next year, he plans to take environmental science ZAVADA students to Puno, Peru, to work with graduate students at the university there, where they will study water quality, mining operations, agriculture operations, fisheries, and range management. The research trip is a way for students to get involved in environmental issues on a more global level. “It is important that students get the sense that changing the world is possible, even if you are at a rural university like UMN Morris,” Zavada says. Size doesn’t matter in education, just a willingness to learn and the energy to do so.” Zavada loves all aspects of this professorship, but what really stood out to him? The name. “Somebody was so selfless [to] name [it] after a …metamorphic rock symbolic of how we … must metamorphose into better people and better environmental stewards. A rock just one billion years younger than the earth itself and came into existence at about the time that life began on the planet. The name drips with symbolism and, if nothing else, is the neatest thing ever,” says Zavada.
Alumna Gives to Express Appreciation for Faculty
KUNTZ
Kathy Kuntz ’88 credits the faculty at UMN Morris for helping shape her into the person she is today. “They sharpened my thinking, but also taught me so much about justice, empathy, and integrity too.” She feels that experience is an important part of who she is.
Her appreciation of the faculty at UMN Morris has only deepened over the last 35 years. To express her appreciation, Kuntz has chosen to make a gift to the UMM
Faculty Legacy Initiative Fund, a fund to acknowledge and recognize the contributions of UMN Morris faculty. Kuntz hopes that the fund will allow faculty to continue to deliver what she calls the magic of UMN Morris. “Academic rigor coupled with personal connections and intellectual growth, where students matter,” says Kuntz. She adds that she hopes “every faculty member sees this fund as acknowledgement and appreciation of their efforts to go above and beyond.” Her generous support of this fund is helping ensure that the legacy of UMN Morris faculty—both present and future—continues. “Giving back to UMM has always been a priority for me,” says Kuntz.
Couple Supports UMN Morris beyond the Classroom “Youth are the future. These kids who are in college now are hopefully going to go out and change the world in ways we can’t imagine,” says Kathy Rice. Rice and her LOEK AND RICE husband, Greg Loek, had established a scholarship for UMN Morris students, but they wanted to do more. After some thoughtful planning—taking the time to consider their goals and what they wanted to accomplish with their giving—Rice and Loek generously established two funds: the Beyond the Classroom Student Endowment Fund and the Beyond the Classroom Faculty Endowment Fund. Inspiration for these funds came in part from the opportunities and positive experiences that their daughter, Ellen Titus ’15, had at UMN Morris. Both Rice and Loek were moved by the collaborative, interdisciplinary, personal approach to education at UMN Morris and feel that students are getting more out of their education here. “Morris is kind of a unique place (with its) small campus and the availability of the professors,” says Rice. The professors stood out to the couple. Rice and Loek met with different faculty members to learn more about their needs. The response they got further emphasized for them how dedicated UMN Morris faculty are. “We were just so impressed with everyone that we talked to—they were so centered on the students,” says Loek. The couple wanted to help ensure that faculty have what they need to support student retention. “I think attracting and retaining faculty can be difficult, especially in … Morris. So that’s why we did the Beyond the Classroom for faculty—to show appreciation and maybe allow them to do a few things they don’t have funding for now,” says Rice.
Left: 2019 DVPLA Heid Erdrich speaks to an audience of students, faculty, and community members. Right: 2023 DVPLA Michelle Janning.
Distinguished Visiting Professorship Strengthens UMN Morris Academics Faculty are at the heart of our thriving academic community. It’s their distinctive expertise and knowledge that gives UMN Morris students the Morris advantage they need to succeed. And, thanks to private giving, UMN Morris has been able to broaden this expertise over the last 20 years with a visiting professorship. The Elizabeth S. Blake Distinguished Visiting Professorship in the Liberal Arts (DVPLA) is held on a short-term basis by a faculty member from another college or university who is a recognized authority in his or her field. It is awarded in rotation to each of UMN Morris’s four academic divisions: humanities, science and mathematics, social science, and education. Under the vision of Blake, professor emeritus who served as vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean at UMN Morris from 1979 until 1995, the DVPLA was created “to celebrate and strengthen the success of the University of Minnesota Morris as an undergraduate liberal arts campus and to contribute to its continuing quest for high distinction in baccalaureate education.” It’s a valuable part of UMN Morris’s commitment to academic strength and advanced knowledge, bringing to campus distinguished faculty members from a wide range of fields. During their time here, each visiting professor teaches a new course and gives a public presentation on a special topic for the campus and community. In turn, UMN Morris faculty are able to collaborate with the visiting professor in their field, sharing ideas about curriculum and participating in public and informal workshops led by the visiting professor, while students get the opportunity to interact directly with a distinguished expert in the field of their major. In these ways, the DVPLA enhances an already rich intellectual campus life at UMN Morris.
Overall, they wanted to support a well-rounded education, so the couple made the Beyond the Classroom endowments part of their giving plan.
“[T]he DVPLA program creates a regular and frequent opportunity for our colleagues and students to engage and share ideas with faculty experts from other institutions, one of the hallmarks of what being a public liberal arts and sciences institution is all about,” says Peh Ng, acting vice chancellor of academic affairs and dean.
“We are very committed to giving on a regular basis so it’s like we can keep doing that, even once we’re gone—we can still support the things that we supported when we were alive.”
Moreover, the DVPLA helps to amplify UMN Morris’s national and international visibility.“When the [visiting professors] have good experiences on our campus, they tend to talk about our campus when they leave,” says Ng.
Gift of Scholarship Marks Faculty Member’s Legacy Denise Dworakoski knows how deeply passionate her spouse, Peh Ng, is about higher education. Ng has been a faculty member at UMN Morris since 1995 teaching mathematics. She has also served as the chair of the Division of Science and Mathematics and is currently the interim dean and vice chancellor for academic affairs. Contemplating a birthday gift for Ng recently, Dworakoski decided to establish a scholarship in Ng’s honor. “Every year for her birthday, I would struggle finding the right gift that she would appreciate,” says Dworakoski. “Establishing this scholarship as a birthday gift to her was definitely a home run for me.” She adds, “[A]n established scholarship seemed a wonderful way to mark her legacy at UMN Morris.” The Dr. Peh Ng and Denise Dworakoski Scholarship was awarded for the first time this year to a student who is pursuing a major in the Division of Science and Mathematics.
89% alumni
2023 Donors
8% other individuals
3% corporations and foundations
Dworakoski likes that this gift is sustainable and will provide more opportunities for students earning their degree at UMN Morris. “[It] aligned well with our values on education, giving, and philanthropy.”
NG AND DWORAKOSKI
Dworakoski and Ng both feel strongly that the liberal arts education they earned should be accessible and affordable to all students. And as a first-generation college graduate, Dworakoski recognizes the unique challenges that come with obtaining a college degree. “It takes a village in bringing up our next generation,” says Dworakoski. “Having a scholarship that can help several in the coming years is exciting to think about.”
University of Minnesota President’s Club With gratitude, we welcome these fiscal year 2023 members to the University of Minnesota President’s Club and recognize those Morris donors who reached a new giving level. HERITAGE SOCIETY Lee Biersdorf and Ellyn Hosch Daniel D. Flies Greg Loek and Kathy Rice MORRILL SOCIETY Greg Loek and Kathy Rice Jim Odden and Ann Carrott Drs. William D. and Marsha J. Beyer Dr. Gary L. McGrath
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Giving to UMN Morris In partnership with the University of Minnesota Foundation, all gifts designated to UMN Morris are received by and invested in the Morris campus. The Foundation serves as the legal, charitable entity for the University system. SUSAN SCHMIDGALL senior director of advancement 320-589-6160 sschmidg@morris.umn.edu ERIN CHRISTENSEN ’05 senior development officer 320-589-6067 erinc@morris.umn.edu NADIA LAUER senior development officer nadiaojl@morris.umn.edu JENNIFER ZYCH HERRMANN ’00 development officer 320-589-6048 zychja@ morris.umn.edu give.morris.umn.edu
Olivia Kingston ’23 with Associate Professor Lisa Bevevino are shown assembling a book binding press, part of the medieval manuscripts collection that Kingston organized and created displays of for her student scholarly and creative project, which was initiated by Bevevino and funded by the Morris Academic Partnership program. (On cover) Associate Professor Rachel Johnson assists biology students during a lab project. The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, familial status, disability, public assistance status, membership or activity in a local commission created for the purpose of dealing with discrimination, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.