OU Receives More Than $8 Million In Planned Gifts

By <a href="http://www.ou.edu/publicaffairs.html">Public Affairs,</a> (405) 325-1701

Proceeds from more than $8 million in planned gifts have been received by the University of Oklahoma in the first months of 2014.

Proceeds from more than $8 million in planned gifts have been received by the University of Oklahoma in the first months of the 2014 fiscal year to fund student scholarships, attract and retain teachers and researchers, enhance academic programs, and advance health care.

OU President David Boren made the announcement at the October meeting of the OU Board of Regents in Lawton.

“We are already off to a great start after last year’s $194 million total in gifts, thanks to the generosity of OU friends and alumni,” Boren said.

So far this fiscal year, OU has received $8,002,678 in gifts from matured estates and $2,318,563 million in expectancies for a total of $10,321,241. In the entire 2013 fiscal year, OU had $17 million total in planned gifts and expectancies.

Through the generous estate planning of an anonymous donor, a partial distribution of $3,617,786 has come to OU. The funds will provide resources for full-time undergraduates and graduate students who have financial need, to help attract and retain outstanding teachers and researchers, and for academic enrichment projects and programs.

A gift of $733,645 comes from the estate of estate of Mary M. Jones to support Alzheimer’s and cancer research being conducted at the OU Health Sciences Center. Mrs. Jones, who died in 2012 at the age of 105, was predeceased by two husbands, one of whom was afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and one of whom had cancer.

A gift of $500,000 from the estate of Crockett Henry Page, M.D., adds to the late OU College of Medicine alumnus’ support for the Kjeston Moss Hildreth Memorial Endowed Scholarship. The gift moves the OU College of Medicine closer to reaching the $10 million goal of its Second Century Scholarship Campaign.

Additionally, an estate gift of $485,400 will benefit four areas on the Norman campus, including the departments of Health and Exercise Science, Psychology and Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Leadership and Academic Curriculum in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education.

This past summer, OU hired its first-ever staff member dedicated entirely to planned giving. Eric Melton, who has 24 years of fundraising experience, joined OU as director of Planned Giving and Development. He said he expects to see much more activity in the area of planned giving in the months and years ahead.