Giving to the Department
Great universities, like Michigan State University, thrive on challenge and imagination and grow on initiative and success. Each year, thousands of alumni and friends support MSU by contributing their time, talents, and money in support of our students, faculty, and academic programs. Indeed, private philanthropy represents an enormous resource that has enabled the outstanding faculty and student body of the College of Arts and Letters to excel at teaching and learning.
Donors may give to a general fund that supports the department at the discretion of the chairperson. Donors may also give to an existing endowment, such as the Arthur Athanason Endowment Fund, created in memory of one of the most gifted teachers this department has known and benefiting students in the Creative Writing program. More ambitious donors may even wish to create a separate, distinct endowment, as has been done in the last few years in English Education (with the Marion Kurtz Croak Endowed Scholarship in English by the generous gift of Don and Ann Stormzand) and in the undergraduate English major (with the Estralita Johnson Ward and Lloyd D. Ward Endowed Scholarship for Olympic Spirit in English by anonymous donors).
Some donors to the Department of English choose to continue their support beyond their lifetime by including the department in their estate planning. Legacy gifts from an estate by way of will, trust, or life income agreement allow donors the opportunity to make a significant gift to their alma mater. Planned gifts can provide discretionary funds to be used as determined by the chair of the department or can be designated to a specific use directed by the donor's estate or through an agreement with the university. Named endowed funds, whether established with outright gifts or with a planned gift, provide annual funding to the department in perpetuity.
MSU alumni and friends often choose to document (formalize in writing) their intention to make a future gift. Documenting a future gift from an estate is not a binding legal obligation upon the donor or their estate, and information remains strictly confidential. It is an important process through which donors can establish guidelines, with the help of the college development office, detailing wishes for the use of their potential future gift.
If you are interested in learning more about leaving a gift to MSU through your estate or about establishing a named endowed fund, please contact Bridget Paff, director of development, College of Arts and Letters, at (517) 353-4725. If you would like to discuss the department’s current and future needs, with an eye toward contributing financially to our continued success, contact Stephen Arch, chairperson of the department, at (517) 355-7576 or arch@msu.edu.
