Endowed chairs plan has its good points

The Edmund Sun (OK)
Published: June 05, 2008 08:35 pm

EDMOND — T. Boone Pickens’ $100 million academic donation to Oklahoma State University did more than just make history — it also put a public eye on a little-known state funding issue that’s been lurking in the background for several years.

In 1989, state lawmakers agreed to a 1-1 matching program for university endowed professorship chairs. So every time a donor gave to a university’s endowed chair program, the state would match it. At that time, the phenomenal heights of university foundation fundraising machines was completely unforeseen. Certainly no one saw the T. Boone Pickenses of the world coming along to rock the boat.

For several years now, the endowed chairs matching program has been in arrears as the state found other priorities in tight budgets. That problem had ballooned to $116 million before Pickens’ donation and now is at $216 million the state owes because it promised universities it would pay.

Read the full story