Son Honors Father’s Love of OSU Library, Education with Endowed Faculty Position
Kniffin endowed professorship to benefit future school librarians & teachers

Oklahoma State University received a $250,000 gift from Oklahoma City resident David Kniffin in honor of his late father to establish a faculty chair dedicated to library and education service.  Once fully matched dollar-for-dollar by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education as well as T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million chair match commitment, the gift will provide $1 million in endowed funds.

The gift was given in honor of OSU alumnus, Claud Kniffin, to benefit the two areas at OSU which meant the most to him: Edmon Low Library and the College of Education.  Claud was a 1940 graduate of the education college and worked in the library as a student at Oklahoma A&M in the 1930s.  He was a long-term member of the Friends of the OSU Library Board and a recent recipient of its Edna Mae Phelps award for outstanding service to the OSU Library. He passed away late last year.

“This wonderful gift that will make a significant impact in two key academic areas,” said OSU President Burns Hargis.  “We sincerely appreciate everything Claud Kniffin meant to Oklahoma State University and are deeply grateful to his son David for this touching donation.  We commend OSU donors for following Mr. Pickens’ lead and generously supporting endowed chairs.”

The cross-disciplinary gift will fund a library faculty position that will work closely with the College of Education’s library media degree program.

With the announcement the state is changing the endowed faculty chair matching program on July 1, Kniffin chose to take full advantage of the current dollar-for-dollar state match to add significant faculty support to OSU through his donation.  

“My father wanted to see OSU become a major force that would one day be equal to any other university in the nation, including the Ivy League,” said David.  “This gift will benefit future teachers by giving them a better working knowledge of the 21st century library and how to prepare for it.  Additionally, it will bring together like-minded scholars to explore this concept while strengthening these two academic areas on campus.”

The gift was also prompted by the $100 million academic donation from alumnus Pickens on May 21.  Pickens’ gift will more than double the number of current faculty chair and professorship positions at the university and he generously agreed that his donation can be used to match other donor gifts to faculty chairs and professorships in the area of the donor’s choice, and in the name of their choice.  With the state match on both gifts, OSU donors can see their gift to fund a faculty chair quadruple.

Jean Van Delinder, chair of the OSU Faculty Council, said, “OSU is poised for growth, prominence and recognition, but to realize our 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 professorship 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.  Established in 1890, the Stillwater campus is the home of the OSU System.  OSU boasts students from all 50 states and nearly 120 nations.  

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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