Named Gifts at LSU
Behind every endowed scholarship, chair or professorship is a unique individual or family with a desire to make a difference and a vision to reach into the future.
Endowed funds and named gifts enable you to honor a loved one, advance the study of an important field and demonstrate your support for LSU. All at the same time. In perpetuity. Possibilities for named endowments begin at $20,000 and include a wide range of opportunities, from naming scholarship endowments to naming entire colleges, schools, units, and new buildings on our campuses.
Naming of Colleges, Schools, and Academic Entities
A gift commitment for the naming of a college, school or academic unit will vary with each school and is subject to negotiation and approval by the LSU System Board of Supervisors. Gifts to name a college, school or unit create an endowment that will generate income for the entity's major priorities in perpetuity.
Named academic units and programs at LSU include:
- Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture (Art & Design)
- Cain Department of Chemical Engineering (Engineering)
- Charles L. Barney Geology Field Camp Program (Basic Sciences)
- Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering (Engineering)
- E.J. Ourso College of Business
- Flores MBA (Business)
- Manship School of Mass Communication
- Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs (Mass Communication)
- Rucks Department of Management (Business)
- Stephenson Disaster Management Institute (Business)
- Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute (Business)
Naming of a Building
A donor can exercise the very rare opportunity to name a new building after a loved one, an entire family, or an honored associate, for example, for a gift equaling one half of the construction costs of that building. Such opportunities are negotiated at the highest level of institutional administration with the potential donor and his or her advisors.
Endowed Chair
| LSU A&M: | $2,000,000 minimum ($1.2M donor gift; $800K state match) |
| LSU Ag Center: | $1,000,000 minimum ($600K donor gift; $400K state match) |
| LSU Law Center: | $1,000,000 minimum ($600K donor gift; $400K state match) |
This is one of the most prestigious endowments at any college or campus. The donor is allowed to name an endowed chair in the college or program of his or her choice. Typically, this income is spent to supplement the chair holder's salary, as well as provide additional income for special purposes as determined by the holder of the chair. These purposes could include the purchase of special publications for the library that would complement the particular professor's work, the hiring of graduate students to assist the professor in research projects, and the involvement of post-doctoral students in the particular discipline. Funds could also be spent to buy special research equipment not available through the annual budget. The chair would last in perpetuity and always supply income to the designated college or program. State matching is available.
Endowed Professorship
| LSU A&M: | $300,000 minimum ($180K donor gift; $120K state match) |
| LSU Ag Center: | $100,000 minimum ($60K donor gift; $40K state match) |
| LSU Law Center: | $100,000 minimum ($60K donor gift; $40K state match) |
An endowed professorship provides the resources to reward a renowned professor for academic achievement and enables the professor to pursue research or innovative teaching methods. State matching is available.
Endowed Lectureship
$200,000 minimum
This endowment provides funds in perpetuity to offset expenses incurred in bringing distinguished lecturers in a particular field to LSU to speak to students and faculty and the community.
Named Library Fund Endowment
$100,000 minimum
These funds will be named after the donor and monitored by the Dean of Libraries at LSU. These funds will be used to purchase or maintain books, professional journals or electronic resources in a particular area to be designated by the donor in consultation with the library administration. These funds are valuable in that they supplement the limited budget supplied to public institutions through state appropriations for library materials. Other endowment opportunities exist in the libraries.
General Library Fund Endowment
$300,000 goal
An endowment established for the discretionary use of the LSU Libraries to acquire information resources in the areas of greatest need. Donors may contribute any amount to this fund.
Research Endowment
$200,000 minimum
These funds will be named after the donor and will be used to support research in particular academic areas and on topics of research specified by the donor, agreed upon by the respective academic dean and the university provost.
Endowed Graduate Fellowships
$200,000 minimum
The quality of current and future research at Louisiana State University is shaped not only by its faculty, but also by the graduate students who pursue original research, scholarship, and artistic creativity as part of their education. Endowed Graduate Fellowships will provide stipends to help attract top quality graduate students to study at LSU. These stipends may be awarded in addition to other assistantships and scholarships the student may have been awarded. LSU hopes to attract the most qualified and most highly-recommended students for graduate degree programs at the university through these fellowships.
Endowed Scholarships
| LSU A&M: | $40,000 minimum |
| LSU Ag Center: | $20,000 minimum |
| LSU Law Center: | $20,000 minimum ($30,000 minimum to be eligible for supplement support from the Judge Landry Fund) |
A donor may create an endowed scholarship fund that is named for the donor or in honor or memory of someone. An endowed scholarship fund may be restricted in accordance with the donor’s preferences regarding the student’s academic major, academic qualifications, financial need, residence, or other criteria. Restrictions may not be made that benefit only a specific individual, that apply only to a relative of the donor, or that would cause illegal discrimination.
Endowed Awards
$20,000 minimum
An endowed award that may be used for the recognition of outstanding performance within an academic or administrative department.
Special Purpose Endowments
$20,000 minimum
These endowments can be used in whatever manner and for whatever purpose is needed by LSU at that time, as determined by the administration of LSU. These endowments are extremely valuable in that they allow LSU the flexibility to address pressing needs as they arise. These endowments are created for a program, school, or unit that has a specified use other than awards, scholarships, fellowships or faculty professorships and chairs, and may be housed in academic areas or established to serve a university-wide need, such as libraries, residential life, student life, or the student union.
LSU Foundation Endowments
For donors that do not wish to create individualized named endowments, contributions can be made to support one of three scholarship endowments in the LSU Foundation.
LSU Foundation Merit Scholarship Endowment
This endowment provides scholarship stipends to students based on academic merit. Merit may include, but is not limited to, such things as high school academic grades and rankings, SAT and/or ACT scores and current GPA. In many cases, an award from this fund could complete or “top off” a scholarship package for an outstanding student that may include TOPS. Beyond the broad definition of “merit,” the LSU Foundation and donors do not set specific award criteria, and the Office of Student Aid & Scholarships selects student recipients based on a competitive award process. A donor may direct a gift to the corpus of the endowment to help build the endowment and there is no gift minimum for a contribution to this fund.
LSU Foundation Opportunity Scholarship Endowment
This endowment provides scholarship stipends to students based on financial need. As a whole, costs to attend Louisiana State University are low compared to many peer institutions. Even so, academically qualified students often lack the financial resources to attend college. The Office of Student Aid & Scholarships will select student recipients based on an established formula that determines need. A donor may direct a gift to the corpus of the endowment to help build the endowment and there is no gift minimum for a contribution to this fund.
LSU Foundation Strategic Scholarship Endowment
This endowment provides scholarship stipends to students that may be targeted in a “strategic” area for the university. For example, the university may have a low enrollment area they want to build. Or there may be a new curriculum or program that could use a boost. Scholarships can be targeted to students in these areas. Other strategic areas may include first generation college students, diversity, out-of-state students, and leadership. As the needs and opportunities of the university change, this endowment will provide the Office of Student Aid & Scholarships the flexibility to respond to these changes and help the university address strategic goals. A donor may direct a gift to the corpus of the endowment to help build the endowment and there is no gift minimum for a contribution to this fund.
For information on endowments and other giving opportunities, contact us here at the LSU Foundation:
| Maj. Gen. William G. (Bill) Bowdon, USMC (Ret.) President and CEO LSU Foundation 3838 W. Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 578-3811 (800) 452-7928 wgbowdon@lsufoundation.org |
Jeffery L. McLain, CFRE Vice President for Development LSU Foundation 3838 W. Lakeshore Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70808 (225) 578-3811 (800) 452-7928 jmclain@lsufoundation.org |
| For Law Center naming and/or endowments, contact: Dr. Karen Soniat Paul M. Hebert Law Center Suite 400 Law Center 1 East Campus Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70803-1000 (225) 578-8645 karen.soniat@law.lsu.edu |
For Ag Center naming and/or endowments, contact: Randa Bordelon LSU AgCenter 210A Efferson Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 (225) 578-4238 randab@lsu.edu |