Meibergen Family Supports Plant & Soil Sciences Research
with $250,000 Professorship at OSU

Oklahoma State University has received a $250,000 gift from The Lew Meibergen Family to establish a plant and soil sciences professorship. 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 $1 million in endowed funds.

The chairman of Johnston Enterprises Inc, Lew received an animal science degree from OSU in 1953.  Founded in 1893, Johnston Enterprises Inc. has served as Oklahoma’s largest and oldest independent grain and seed dealer and has been passed down through four generations of the Johnston family.

The gift will create the Meibergen Family Professorship in Plant and Soil Sciences located within the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. This endowed position will help Oklahoma agriculture meet one of the important challenges it will face in the 21st century: preparing an educated workforce to meet industry needs.

“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 what the entire Meibergen family has done for the benefit of OSU academics and research.” 

Lew believes it’s in best interest of the company as well as its customers and producers to support key research and genetics for future breeds.

“It’s so important to keep up with what’s available and developed in terms of new varieties and strains that are both drought and insect resistant,” said Lew.  “I hope that OSU will come out with varieties and crops that benefit our producers, and ultimately, we hope that OSU will receive royalties from these findings that they’ll be able to put back into additional research.”

Lew’s grandson Joey, who currently serves the company in the area of project management and development, indicated why timing was so crucial in making this gift to the university.

He stated, “The farmer in our region is currently in a time of change, and this change is something that we have never seen before.  The world’s demand for agricultural commodities is a high and some feel is here to stay.  It is so important to have the right seeds and genetics going into the future so that we can have a competitive edge and keep up with what technology has to offer in producing his crop.  That is why we felt that it was so important to support Plant and Soil Science in particular Plant Breeding.”

In order to take full advantage of the state’s dollar-for-dollar match, and make the most significant impact on OSU academics, the Meibergens 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.

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 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; 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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