The Descartes Systems Group of Waterloo, Ontario, has made a significant gift-inkind of Descartes Fleetwise software for use in the Broad School’s Last Mile Supply Chain Center.

The Center is a research-oriented enterprise led by Ken Boyer and Tomas Hult, both associate professors in the Marketing and Supply Chain Management Department. The goal of the center is to document and study the effects of the Internet on the development of the direct-to-consumer supply chain, particularly in the on-line retail industry.

Boyer said “Descartes has been a market leader in routing and scheduling technology for more than a decade. Naturally, when we were looking to investigate routing and scheduling software, Descartes was the clear choice as a partner.”

A lifetime of teaching recalled through endowed scholarship

Jim Rainey (MBA Production ’66), a dedicated Broad School faculty member and administrator for many years, has created an endowed fund in The School of Hospitality Business. When he first came to Michigan State, Rainey planned to stay for one year, but retired in December 2004, after a 40-year career here. In his role as associate dean for Academic Programs, Rainey was responsible for the academic programming and support services for all business school undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students. Recently, he received the Broad School’s distinguished Lifetime Alumni Achievement Award (see page 20).

According to Rainey, he established the endowed fund in Hospitality Business because of the great joy he has experienced in both knowing and teaching hospitality students, out of respect for his long-time friend and colleague Ron Cichy, director of The School of Hospitality Business, and because of his career focus of developing model academic student services. The new endowed fund supports academic student services in The School of Hospitality Business, and may also be used for scholarships.

Weckstein scholarship to help educate future leaders in the hospitality industry

Lou Weckstein (BA Hotel and Restaurant Management ’58), president of John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc, has established a $30,000 endowed scholarship in The School of Hospitality Business with Weckstein donating $20,000 and John Q. Hammons donating $10,000.

During Weckstein’s 45 years in the hospitality industry, he has been at the forefront, providing leadership and innovation and conducting profitable business operations.

MSU endowment fund performs above national average

In a recent study focused on endowment fund performance of university and nonprofit institutions, Michigan State University posted higher than normal returns. In 2004, the study showed, the MSU fund returned profits some four points higher than the national average: 18.7 percent, compared to 14.7 percent for other institutions. While this study is new, the results are not, MSU’s director of investment and financial management, Glen Klein, said in a January 2005 article published in The State News. During the past four years, he reported, the university has posted gains larger than the national average.

Gifts from alumni and friends, as well as other donations, contribute to the fund and are invested in a diversified portfolio. According to Bob Duncan, The Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean, donors who fund an endowment often designate their gift for a specific long-term objective, such as faculty support, student or faculty fellowships or for “bricks and mortar” projects, such as remodeling campus facilities.

MBA Classes of ’04 continue the tradition of giving

In the spring of 2004, the Full-Time MBA class held their annual class gift campaign. Continuing the class gift tradition started by the class of 2002, the campaign was highly successful. The campaign raised $62,000 and had a 69 percent participation rate. The class has designated their gift to the MBA endowment that was established by the class of 2003.

Likewise, the Executive MBA and Weekend MBA programs ran very successful class gift campaigns. The Executive MBA program raised $65,000 and had an 85 percent participation rate, and the Weekend MBA program raised $34,000 and had a 50 percent participation rate. The monies raised in EMBA and WMBA campaigns will fund faculty research endowments in their respective programs as well as an EMBA lecture series, and WMBA alumni activities. All three MBA programs are working on their respective 2005 campaigns.

Alumni of the Weekend MBA program are hitting the books this year to achieve their scholarship fundraising goals. “We want to make the 2005 Weekend MBA Alumni Golf Classic, at Forest Akers West, one for the record books,” say Diane Grieves (MBA Weekend ’99) and Mike Pohlod (BA Accounting ’95, MBA Weekend ’01), co-chairs of the annual event. A significant portion of the event proceeds are used to fund the Weekend MBA scholarship endowment. This year’s outing is scheduled for July 30, 2005.

Full-Time MBA program seeks support for MBA student lounge improvements

Students in the Full-Time MBA program are looking forward to a day very soon when their student lounge will “graduate” to a larger and more student-friendly study and program activities area. The MBA Lounge Remodeling Campaign is an effort to raise $250,000 for a substantial remodeling of the ground floor meeting room in the North Business Complex. The space is currently used by students for team meetings, presentation practices, recruiter information sessions, jobinterview preparations and more.

“Students use this room for everything from working on individual and teambased classroom assignments to social events like celebrating their annual success in the national MBA Food Fight,” says Maura Benton, assistant director of Development for the Broad School. “A top-notch student lounge is also one of the things that MBA candidates expect to find in a program of our caliber. It’s a critical factor in recruiting top students to the Broad School MBA program.”

The current lounge, she says, is too small and not properly equipped to accommodate the variety of needs and activities of the students and the program. Key elements needed to bring the facility up to par with other top business school include:

• An adequate lounge area
• Executive presentation area
• Executive reception area
• Area for students to change into interview attire
• Storage space for community service equipment

Recognizing the immediate need for the renovations and remodeling of this facility, the Broad School has agreed to match 50 percent of the total of all gifts contributed to the effort.

Alumni and friends of the college can contribute to the effort by using the online option at www.bus.msu.edu/development/mbalounge.html or by contacting Benton at (517) 432-9472.

McGregor Fellowship to provide support for MBAs

Through gifts of cash and planned giving, George F. McGregor (BA Business Administration ’42, MS Economics ’47), established an endowed fellowship fund for MBA candidates at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management.

The George F. McGregor Endowed Fellowship Fund will provide support for future MBA candidates who demonstrate the capacity, desire and initiative to achieve educational and professional goals through obtaining an MBA degree. It is the intention of the donor that recipients exhibit leadership qualities, potential and a strong work ethic.

McGregor, a native of Pontiac, Mich., entered Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) in 1938 and was commissioned at graduation as a second lieutenant, Field Artillery, U.S. Army Reserve. He reported for active military service and served for four years, including combat duty during World War II in the European Theater. He served an additional 30 years in the Army Reserve, retiring with the rank of colonel.

After completing his master’s degree in Economics at MSU in 1947, McGregor was an instructor in the department of Economics until 1949. He pursued additional graduate work at the University of California at Berkeley and established a lifetime career in personnel management and human relations. He and his wife, Anne, live in Hendersonville, N.C.

Continuing to lead

Dan Coulson (BA Finance ’64, MBA Finance ’65) has always taken a leadership role in activities for Michigan State University and the Broad School. Now he is going to continue that role in perpetuity.

The former president of the Broad School Alumni Association Board of Directors has designated a $500,000 gift through his estate to establish the Daniel R. Coulson and Barbara C. Coulson Faculty Fellowship Endowment. This endowment will help to ensure the Broad School is able to remain competitive in recruiting and retaining the best young faculty in the academic marketplace.

“For several years I led the Ford Corporate Alumni In-House Campaign for MSU. We had over 2,000 Spartan graduates working at Ford and have had very successful campaigns. This reflects a strong relationship with Michigan State and the large number of active alumni within the community. During that time, I learned what a key role faculty play in the success of the university and the strength of its academic programs. I hope this endowment helps ensure continued availability of highly-qualified faculty for the Broad School in the future,” says Coulson.

In 2004 Coulson retired as chief financial officer of Visteon Corporation where he was a member of the leadership team and played a key role in the June 2000 spinoff of the company from Ford. Prior to that, Coulson worked for Ford Motor Company as accounting director and controller of the Ford and Lincoln Mercury divisions.