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SDSU President David Chicoine says that while the family has likely bestowed its generosity on the school for a number of reasons, at least one of them is the desire to train future members of the workforce. “Everybody needs to hire good people and you have to have relationships with places where good people come from,” he says.

As chairman and CEO of Dakota National Bank, Larry Ness has instilled a culture of company support for SDSU in addition to his personal generosity. The bank matches employees’ contributions to the Jack Rabbit Guarantee Scholarship program and provided capital for an electronic education lab, set to open this fall, which will have a number of uses, including as a classroom to train students about electronic marketplaces. Larry and Diane have personally committed $5 million to launch the Ness Division of Management and Economics this fall. The division will be a unique structure, serving as the coordinating body for economics and management programs within four colleges at the school. “It’s a little different,” Chicoine says. “Most people would run out and create a new administrative sector. We’re not doing that. We’re going to be supporting a coordinating function that allows faculty to come together across these colleges.”

The division is expected to include more than 40 faculty members and 2,000 students and is expected to benefit students by allowing them to stay in their specific sector of study. Chicoine says the division’s unique structure was developed partially in response to Larry Ness’ desire to create something unique that would serve multiple industries and is the result of several years of research and industry input. “It’s been a work in progress for a lot of years,” he says.

Hometown Pride

As a private school, the University of Jamestown (N.D.) relies heavily upon its alumni and friends to support it, and there is perhaps no greater supporter than the Newman family. Harold Newman founded his sign company in Jamestown in 1956 and was a steadfast supporter of the community and the school for decades. He spent time as a member of its board of trustees and a booster club supporter and was an avid fan of the school’s sports, particularly basketball. He and his family often attended games, which are held at the Jamestown Civics Center because there is no on-campus space. He felt it was important to the university to have space on campus for athletics, so earlier this year his family made the largest one-time donation in the school’s history, an undisclosed sum, in his and his wife Mary’s honor to lead the way for an athletics center to be built on campus.

UJ Vice President Polly Peterson says ground will not be broken on the tentatively named Newman Athletic Arena until the majority of funding is committed, but feedback from other potential donors has been positive and she expects work could begin within the next year or two. “When you have that lead gift people get excited,” she says. At the Newman family’s direction, the facility is expected to be available not just for school sports but for community purposes as well. A portion of the family’s gift will also be used to establish an endowed scholarship for the school’s nursing students.

Kari Newman-Ness, CEO of Newman Signs and a member of UJ’s board of trustees, says the family targeted the school for its philanthropy because they believe it is a great university and asset to the community. “We think it fills a niche for a lot of kids,” she says. “It’s got some wonderful programs - nursing, business, they just started a physical therapy program. But mostly because it’s here in Jamestown.”

Newman-Ness says she and her siblings were raised in Jamestown and often accompanied their parents to UJ basketball games, and while the school has done well in updated and expanding other areas, athletics has lagged and the family felt the time was right to give it needed support. Like other major donors, Newman-Ness says her family hopes their generosity will inspire others to pay it forward at their alma maters and make the student experience the best it can be. She also anticipates that her family’s philanthropic support will continue into the future. “Our parents taught us to share, so yes,” she says. PB

Kris Bevill Editor, Prairie Business 701-306-8561, kbevill@prairiebizmag.com