Visionary OSU couple impact Oklahoma rural communities through $1.8 million
commitment to education, medicine, sociology

Dresser Trust to provide four endowed faculty positions at OSU

Oklahoma State University announced today a $1.86 million gift from the late Laurence L. and Georgia Dresser to create four endowed faculty positions in rural medicine, rural health policy, rural sociology and rural teacher education.  Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment, as well as the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the gift will provide nearly $7.5 million of impact in endowed funds.

Georgia Ina Dresser received her bachelor’s degree in home economics from OSU in 1925, and passed away in 1989. A civil engineer, Laurence L. Dresser was the founder and past owner and president of the Tulsa-based Dresser Engineering Co.  He passed away in 1980.  
 
“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 the Dresser family’s continued commitment to this university.”  
 
In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, the Dresser Trust gift was made prior to the July 1 change in the state’s endowed chair matching program.  This gift is part of the $66.8 million in endowed faculty gifts OSU announced recently.   
 
The gift will create a chair in rural medicine and a chair in rural health policy within OSU’s Center for Health Sciences.  Additionally it will create a professorship in rural sociology for the College of Arts & Sciences and a professorship in rural education located in the College of Education. The earnings from each endowment will support a variety of needs from faculty salary support and research expenditures to curriculum development and conference participation.
 
Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council, said, “OSU is poised for growth and further prominence but to realize its full potential we must continue to attract and retain top scholars and researchers. These chairs highlight the important role that scholarship and teaching play at Oklahoma State University, and they are made possible through the generous support of donors who value excellence in scholarship and want to help OSU continue to nurture a strong faculty.”
 
Endowed professorships and chairs are academic designations which provide support for faculty salary, graduate assistantships, equipment and research needs, as well as other support.  These endowed faculty positions allow a university to attract and retain the best and the brightest academic minds in the world.
 
Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach.  OSU has more than 32,000 students across its system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus; with students from all 50 states and around 110 nations.  Established in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 200,000 students who have made a lasting impact on Oklahoma and the world.  

The Oklahoma State University Foundation serves as the private fundraising organization for OSU, as designated by the OSU Regents. Its mission is to unite donor and university passions and priorities to achieve excellence.

Top of page ^