Amid homecoming festivities that included a return to campus from actor John Goodman himself, Missouri State University on Saturday night, Oct. 29, announced the grand total raised in a record-breaking, goal-beating fundraising campaign.
Over the five-year Onward, Upward campaign, more than 60,000 people contributed over $274 million to Missouri State’s students, faculty, programs and facilities. The total surpassed the MSU Foundation’s stated goal of $250 million. University alumni, students, faculty and staff celebrated the achievement on Saturday night at the Great Southern Bank Arena.
Among those thousands of donations were numerous needle-movers that have led to new, upgraded and renamed facilities on campus. The newly-renamed Great Southern Bank Arena and McQueary College of Health and Human Services, additions at the Darr College of Agriculture and the creation of the John Goodman Amphitheatre in a park now named for Judith Enyeart Reynolds were among the major projects to transform the campus over the past five years.
Goodman, an actor known for TV roles on “Roseanne” and for movies like “The Big Lebowski” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and many others, said in a news release that those major efforts were more than counterbalanced by the thousands of donors who pitched in what they could over the course of the campaign.
“Campaigns usually need a lot of ‘big help’ when it comes to financial support,” said Goodman, who along with being an MSU alum is the Onward, Upward campaign chair. “But something made this campaign truly special. It wasn’t just big gifts that carried us onward and upward. It was thousands and thousands of small gifts that gave the campaign its momentum.”
Millions in gifts spread out across four areas
Brent Dunn, executive director of the MSU Foundation, said in a news release that millions donated have already been put to work. Along with facilities, donors have supported scholarship and endowment efforts to help the university’s students, faculty and programs.
The funding has so far led to:
- Almost $80 million in new scholarships for MSU students
- Over $70 million earmarked for new building or improvements to existing facilities
- More than $118 million for academic programs
- About $5 million for faculty support
Arguably MSU’s most unique donor, Bobby Allison, honored during Board of Governors meeting
At the Oct. 28 Board of Governors meeting, Dunn and Kyle Moats, MSU athletic director, took turns sharing with the board their experiences working with — and golfing at night with — Bobby Allison. Allison died earlier this fall.
Dunn said Allison is one of the top-five donors of all time to Missouri State. Allison had contributed to scores of projects aimed at Springfield youth, and Dunn said “he had a heart for children” and wanted to help provide them with things and spaces they might not have. Dunn recalled a night years ago when they were golfing at Allison’s home course, Twin Oaks Country Club, when Allison signaled over.
“He said, ‘Hey, I might want to help big kids, too,’” Dunn recalled.
From that, a philanthropic bond between Allison and the university was forged. Dunn said the first gift Allison gave the university was funding for the Foster Recreation Center, which led to the naming of the indoor courts in honor of him and his mother, Betty. From there, Allison continued to contribute to various academic and athletic fundraising endeavors. Some led to stadium namings. Others, like a $10,000 check to cover the final costs of a university bear statue, were passed quietly to Dunn after phone calls that always ended with the idiosyncratic Allison simply hanging up, rather than saying goodbye.
Dunn said Allison also helped tout the university’s image by funding branding efforts like the glowing Bear logo that graces Hutchens House, the dorm named for Allison’s best friend, Jeff Hutchens.
Allison did not have children, and MSU President Clif Smart told the board on Friday that Hutchens is in charge of Allison’s trust, which will allow him to give in perpetuity.
“The legacy of Bobby Allison will continue to grow,” Smart said.
So Allison will continue to help the university after his death, and after the arena celebration of the Onward, Upward campaign goes quiet Saturday night.
