Puterbaugh Foundation Commits $500K for OSU Presidential Chair

McAlester-based foundation capitalizes on Pickens’, state match

Oklahoma State University received a $500,000 gift from The Puterbaugh Foundation to establish a faculty chair to be held exclusively by the OSU President.  The chair will rotate among the various university colleges to reflect the current president’s area of academic discipline.  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 $2 million in endowed funds.

“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 Puterbaugh Foundation is doing for OSU academics and research.” 

The chair will be held by current OSU president Burns Hargis within the William S. Spears School of Business where he is currently on the faculty.  While President Hargis’ area of focus will center on banking, finance and legal studies, the chair will center on the research of future OSU presidents’ academic disciplines.

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

“Our foundation is honored to fund this rotating chair to support the academic credentials of the OSU president,” said Justice Steven Taylor, foundation trustee.  “We wanted to establish a chair that could be held by President Burns Hargis and every future president of OSU.  We believe in OSU and the mission of the land-grant university, and this gift demonstrates our confidence in the university as a result of hiring Burn Hargis.  That selection gave us a boost of optimism. I also want to strongly emphasize that the giving by Boone Pickens has been a major inspiration to our giving to OSU."”

With this recent gift, the Puterbaugh Foundation has donated more than $1 million to OSU in the last 10 years.

The gift was given in honor of new OSU President Burns Hargis and prompted by a $100 million academic donation from alumnus T. Boone 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 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.

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 ^