Published: August 03, 2008 11:22 pm         

OSU gains pair of $250,000 gifts

Staff reports



Oklahoma State University has announced a pair of $250,000 gifts from northwest Oklahomans to fund endowed professorships in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Enid resident Lew Meibergen and his family made a donation to establish a plant and soil sciences professorship. Kingfisher residents Jack and Joyce Stuteville and First Capital Bank made a donation to establish an agriculture education professorship.

Once fully matched by T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment and Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gifts will have the impact of $1 million each in endowed funds.

Chairman of Johnston Enterprises, Meibergen received an animal science degree from OSU in 1953. Founded in 1893, Johnston Enterprises has served as Oklahoma’s largest and oldest independent grain and seed dealer and has been passed down through four generations of the Johnston family.

The gift will create the Meibergen Family Professor-ship in Plant and Soil Sciences. This endowed position will help Oklahoma agriculture meet one of the important challenges it will face in the 21st century: preparing an educated work force to meet industry needs, said OSU President Burns Hargis.

“The response from our alumni and friends has exceeded our wildest expectations,” said OSU President Burns Hargis. “Inspired by Boone Pickens’ astounding generosity, donors answered the call to make a lasting difference and open a new and exciting chapter at OSU. We sincerely appreciate what the entire Meibergen family has done for the benefit of OSU academics and re-search.”

Meibergen said he believes it’s in best interest of the company as well as its customers and producers to support key research and genetics for future breeds.

“It’s so important to keep up with what’s available and developed in terms of new varieties and strains that are both drought and insect resistant,” he said. “I hope that OSU will come out with varieties and crops that benefit our producers, and ultimately, we hope that OSU will receive royalties from these findings that they’ll be able to put back into additional research.”

Lew’s grandson Joey, who serves Johnston Enterprises in the area of project management and development, indicated why timing was so crucial in making this gift to the university.

“The farmer in our region is currently in a time of change, and this change is something that we have never seen before,” he said. “The world’s demand for agricultural commodities is high and some feel is here to stay.

“It is so important to have the right seeds and genetics going into the future so that we can have a competitive edge and keep up with what technology has to offer in producing his crop. That is why we felt that it was so important to support plant and soil science, in particular plant breeding.”

The gift from Jack and Joyce Stuteville and First Capital Bank was made in honor of Jack Stuteville’s high school agriculture teacher, Roger Howell.

Stuteville, CEO of First Capital Bank of Guthrie and Kingfisher and current King-fisher mayor, received an agriculture education degree from OSU in 1969. He serves on the board of trustees of the OSU Foundation and also is involved in a cattle and farming operation in Kingfisher and Okeene-Hitchcock area. He is a former agricultural teacher at Waukomis and Lomega. His wife received an OSU degree in elementary education in 1969.

The gift will create the Roger Howell Memorial Pro-fessorship in Agricultural Edu-cation.

Stuteville met Howell as a student at Kingfisher High School at a time when the small Oklahoma school had more American Far-mers in its chapter than any other throughout the country.

“(Howell) was such a special individual who knew how to capture your attention and he really encouraged my interest in agriculture,” Stuteville said. “I think teachers, specifically ag teachers in Oklahoma, make a big difference. It’s not a glamorous profession and these teachers don’t often get the recognition they deserve. We simply hope our gift honors these educators and helps the industry continue producing quality ag teachers for our state.”

Endowed professorship and chairs are academic designations which provide support for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well as other support.