ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Celebrating the
Spirit of Philanthropy Established in 2021 during the University of Central Missouri’s 150th anniversary Founders Day celebration, “An Evening of Appreciation” is the UCM Founders Society’s signature event. On the evening of April 20, 2024, members of the UCM Alumni Foundation’s most prestigious giving society came together to honor the following individuals with the Founding Philanthropist Award.
Ed and Sandra Elliott Ed and Sandra Elliott’s 14 years of service to UCM as president and first lady were marked by record enrollment increases, expansion of Sandra and Ed Elliott academic degree have played an indelible programs and role in making UCM what renewed efforts to it is today. endow the university with philanthropic support.
University of Northern Colorado. The Elliotts eventually served as president and first Lady of Wayne State College in Nebraska for three years before Ed was appointed as UCM’s 12th president in 1985. Ed and Sandra made lasting contributions, including establishing the Emeriti Association and University Art Collection; spearheading fundraising efforts to build Walton Stadium and Crane Stadium; building a modernized Central Village, Greenwood Park and the South Recreation Complex; and constructing Smiser Alumni Center in the student union. The crown jewel of their construction legacy is the James C. Kirkpatrick Library, which opened the year Ed retired in 1999.
In appreciation of their service, the student union was renamed the Elliott Student Union, with the ballrooms named for Sandra Temple Elliott. Ed was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Elliotts remain active supporters of UCM Athletics. They Both Ed and Sandra grew up in Grain also have established the Sandra Temple Valley, Missouri, graduating from Grain and Ed M. Elliott Family Scholarship, Valley High School. Ed received an artium which supports UCM undergraduate baccalaureus degree from William Jewell students who have been active volunteers College, where he earned 10 varsity athletic supporting the university. letters and was captain of the football and wrestling teams. Sandra attended what was UCM’s Global Vision then Central Missouri State College and Founder joined the Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority. While many donors to the University She married Ed in the Alumni Memorial of Central Missouri are acknowledged Chapel on campus the year before she publicly, some choose to keep their graduated with a degree in Business philanthropy anonymous. Inspired Education in 1961. by a service-learning experience with Ed went on to coach and teach at various high schools and universities. Sandra taught elementary and high school, and the couple raised three children. Ed earned his master’s degree from Columbia University in New York and his doctorate from the
international nonprofit Global Volunteers, this donor wanted to bring a similar opportunity to students in Warrensburg. To fulfill this mission, the Global Vision Endowment was established through the UCM Alumni Foundation in 2015.
UCM students enjoy a view of Kathmandu, Nepal, from 256 feet at Skywalk Tower during a Global Vision service-learning trip in May 2024. Since then, more than 250 volunteers from UCM have taken service-learning trips abroad to places like Tanzania, Peru, Cuba, Saint Lucia, Nepal and Poland. All expenses are paid through the endowment, including airfare, meals, room and board. During the two-week trips, volunteers help the communities they visit in many ways — teaching conversational English, caring for malnourished and at-risk children, conducting workshops for mothers, planting container gardens for sustainable nutrition, renovating school buildings and working in health clinics. Although intent on remaining anonymous, the donor would often attend (always sitting incognito in the audience) the presentations students gave to the campus community about their transformative experiences. Upon this donor’s passing, the UCM Alumni Foundation received a large bequest from their estate, making the Global Vision Endowment the largest at the university. A committee was then formed to assist with carrying out the donor’s wishes, which have manifested through the expansion of the Global Vision program. Many more students now have the opportunity to go beyond “the Burg,” with four trips planned for 2025. University of Central Missouri Magazine
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