University Generates Both Good Will and Gifts

Universities always struggle with how to maintain good relations with residents of the towns where their campuses are based, but Utah State University has found a way to generate good will and attract donations

from people who live in the state’s Cache Valley.

In 1989, Utah State created a membership group for campus employees and people who live near the university. More than half of the 150 individuals who belong have become loyal donors to the university, even though the group never solicits contributions.

Sydney Peterson, who works in the office of the university president and serves as a liaison to the USU Associates, as the group is called, says that its purpose is not to court donors but to improve the university’s standing in the region. But, she adds, “it certainly doesn’t hurt when we are looking to cultivate [donors].”

The group, which is open to all university employees and faculty members, as well as the 90,000 residents of surrounding Cache Valley, meets twice a year for a casual dinner and a program. Expenses are covered by $40 in annual dues paid by each member.

Recent programs have included a gathering at the Logan/Cache Airport to learn about its expansion, a tour of the restored Cache County Courthouse, an evening with performances by members of the Utah Festival Opera Company, and a tour of the university’s Eccles Science Learning Center to learn about research conducted there. The twice-annual gatherings are evenly split, with one held at a university facility and the other held elsewhere every year.

The group is run by an eight-person volunteer board that is also evenly split between university officials and local residents. The university pays for Ms. Peterson to oversee mailings to members of the group and help the board with its events.

A married couple who both graduated from Utah State currently lead the group’s board, serving as co-presidents.

Ron and Mary Jean Campbell, whose three children also graduated from Utah State, have participated in the group for three years after they were recruited by neighbors who worked at the university. Their duties are to plan the group’s meetings, which include an annual awards ceremony to honor an individual who has made a significant contribution to the university or surrounding area.

Mrs. Campbell says the group is good for sharing information and connects people who can work together on university or local projects. For example, officials from the university and local arts groups have pooled their resources to create a shared arts brochure about their offerings; the joint effort is saving the groups money on advertising, helping them reach a wider audience, and providing people with more comprehensive information about area arts events.

Mrs. Campbell says she was a donor to the university long before she joined the USU Associates. However, since joining the group and learning about new projects at the school, she says, her family has increased the amount they give to the institution, donating to several different university efforts.