528 Determined Donors Pool Resources to Raise More than $370,000 for
OSU Professorship in 24 Days

Professorship creates first faculty position for fire protection and safety technology

Oklahoma State University announced today more than $370,000 received from 528 donors to create a fire protection and safety technology (FPST) professorship at OSU honoring former FPST department head Dr. Dale F. Janes.  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 have the impact of nearly $1.5 million in endowed funds.

Michael Larrañaga, department head of the School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology, was determined to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime funding opportunity. 

“When I discussed the professorship opportunity with our alumni and faculty, professor Janes was recommended time and time again as being a person worthy of an endowed professorship,” said Larrañaga. 

Once the professorship was named Larrañaga, FPST faculty, volunteers and alumni made more than 1,000 phone and e-mails to raise the $250,000.  

“We made strategic phone calls to influential alumni and individuals and organizations associated with our program who helped us create the momentum to raise the $250,000,” said Larrañaga.  “We realized that to be successful, we needed to solicit both large and small donations.   Immediately, potential donors realized that their donation would be quadrupled and that we could make this a reality.”

Over 528 donations were made with donations ranging from $15 to $25,000.  In just three and a half weeks, combined efforts raised more than $370,000 to fund the professorship. 

The Janes Fire Protection and Safety Professorship will be housed within OSU’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.  Contributions to the professorship honored Janes, an “excellent role model for his students and one credited with helping pave the way for the success of many students in the field.”

“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 combined efforts of these engineering donors to bring this professorship to fruition for the benefit of future students and faculty within the school of engineering.” 

In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, donors made the gift 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 Dale F. Janes Professorship in Fire Protection and Safety was created to honor Professor Janes, a beloved professor who lived by example and set the standard of achievement for his students.  “If there is a standard for what we, as a program, are looking to achieve then we should strive to achieve the greatness of Dale F. Janes,” said Dr. Robert Schroeder, a 1978 graduate of the FPST program who went on to earn master’s and doctoral degrees in fire protection engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and is currently an independent fire and materials scientist. 

Dale F. Janes was department head of the School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology from 1971-1981.  Janes graduated from Oklahoma A&M College in 1950 with a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management. Under Professor Janes’ guidance, the School expanded from a two year associate’s degree program in FPST to a four year bachelor’s degree program, which included adding coursework in safety engineering, environmental health and industrial security to the existing fire protection courses. He is now retired and lives in De Queen, Arkansas. 

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.

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