WMU News

December gifts to WMU reported to trustees

January 23, 1998

KALAMAZOO--More than $1,460,000 in cash gifts was donated to Western Michigan University in December, according to a report presented to the WMU Board of Trustees at its Jan. 23 meeting.

The amount includes $1,105,282 in current gifts and $354,912 in deferred gifts. This puts the total of current and deferred cash gifts to the University at $3,617,319 since the 1997-98 fiscal year began July 1.

Several major cash donations reported for December came from anonymous donors. Four donors gave $354,911 through WMU's gift annuity program while another donor pledged to give $200,000 to the University.

In addition, one anonymous donor contributed $37,000 to the Provost's Discretionary Fund while another contributed $27,000 to the Russell Brown Honors Quintet Scholarship, which provides training and performance opportunities as well as scholarship money for music students.

It also was reported that four family members of the late Jerry Hogan, a baseball standout at WMU, gave $25,000 each to establish the Jerry Hogan Endowed Baseball Scholarship and to provide for a new scoreboard at Hyames Field.

Hogan, who died in 1994, was the owner and operator of the Hogan Insurance Agency in Kalamazoo. A pitcher, he was named to the All-Mid-American Conference first team in 1949 and received a bachelor of arts degree from WMU in 1952.

The donations in his honor were made by Hogan's wife, Rosalyn of Bradenton, Fla., and children, Kerry of Kalamazoo, Linda of Lawton and Michael of Scotts. Rosalyn received a bachelor of science degree from WMU in 1952, Kerry a master of arts degree in 1992 and Linda a master of arts degree in 1996.

Other athletics-related gifts received support the men's tennis program and the Bronco Alumni Football Center now under construction.

Peggy Sorensen of Bradenton, Fla., gave $30,000 to create the Raymond "Hap" Sorensen Endowment Fund for Men's Tennis. Peggy Sorensen, Hap's wife, received a master of arts degree from WMU in 1963.

Hap Sorensen, who died in 1987, played on the tennis team and received a bachelor of science degree in 1932. He returned to the University in 1950, serving as tennis coach and associate professor of physical education until retiring in 1973. A member of the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame, he directed the men's tennis team to 14 MAC championships. The WMU varsity tennis courts are named in his honor.

James and Consuelo McKinley of Pompano Beach, Fla., pledged to donate $25,000 to support construction of the Bronco Alumni Football Center. Consuelo received a bachelor of arts degree from WMU in 1966 and James received a bachelor of science degree the same year. James, a former member of the WMU Alumni Association board of directors, played football while at the University. He went on to coach football at the collegiate level and in the USFL and was named to the WMU Athletic Hall of Fame. Currently, he is president and owner of McKinley Financial Services in Fort Lauderdale.

The football center is a 50,000-square-foot addition to Waldo Stadium that is expected to be finished in time for the start of the 1998 football season. This multi-story addition will include new locker rooms; facilities for training, strength and conditioning; an auditorium for meetings; and coaches' offices. To date, more than 90 percent of the $6.2 million in private gifts sought for the project has been received or pledged.

Among other gifts reported for December was $10,000 from the Tecumseh Corrugated Box Co. of Tecumseh to the Jeffrey T. Robideau Awards for Meritorious Scholarship Quasi-Endowment. The scholarship is for outstanding management students. Robideau, a 1983 graduate with a bachelor of business administration degree, is president of Tecumseh Corrugated Box and its related foundation, the Robideau Foundation.


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