Kirkpatrick Family Fund Commits $500,000 Chair to Benefit Small Animal Internal Medicine

Gift Honors Joan Kirkpatrick’s Love of Animals

Oklahoma State University announced today a $500,000 gift from the Kirkpatrick Family Fund to create a small animal internal medicine chair at OSU.  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 $2 million in endowed funds.

The Joan Kirkpatrick Chair in Small Animal Internal Medicine Veterinary Medicine will be housed within OSU’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.  The chair will engage with faculty in other veterinary departments to augment research and teaching in one of several sub-disciplines of internal medicine including infectious diseases. Additionally, one primary focal point of the position is to train internal medicine residents in applied research.

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

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

“We made the gift to the Veterinary Center in small animal internal medicine as it provided an excellent opportunity to permanently honor Joan Kirkpatrick and her love for animals and the Veterinary Center,” said Liz Eickman, Kirkpatrick Family Fund executive director. “We hope the gift will have lasting impact in attracting the best faculty to provide excellent training for all future veterinarians.”

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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