SAU FOUNDATION RECEIVES $10,150 FROM MONSANTO FUND

Pictured are:  (Left to Right) Southern Arkansas University students Brittany Horten, junior biology major from Omaha, Texas and Heather Rochelle, junior biology major from Redwater, Texas, measure the production of oxygen and carbon dioxide with one of the Vernier Lab Quest packages recently purchased through a grant from the Monsanto Foundation.  Dr. James Rasmussen, chairman of the SAU Department of Biology explains the use of the equipment

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION RECEIVES $10,150 FROM MONSANTO FUND TO PURCHASE EQUIPMENT FOR THE NEW UNIVERSITY SCIENCE CENTER

Southern Arkansas University Foundation today announced it has received $10,150 from the Monsanto Fund, a private foundation and  the philanthropic arm of Monsanto Company, to purchase seven Vernier Lab Quest packages with appropriate sensors and biochambers. The equipment will be utilized by the SAU Biology Department in the University Science Center currently under construction on the Magnolia campus. The SAU Foundation raises funds for the literary, scientific, and educational purposes of the University.”

“SAU Foundation is pleased to team up with the Monsanto Fund to help provide the latest in teaching and laboratory equipment for the new University Science Center,” said Jeanie Bismark, Executive Director of the Foundation. ”Agricultural education is an important part of the University’s mission. The new center will provide a centralized facility for the study of the interrelated energy sciences: chemistry, physics, and biology, and will support teaching in the agri-sciences, including plant production.”

“Monsanto has targeted 2030 as a goal for doubling yields in our four core crops of corn, soybeans, cotton and canola. To reach that goal Monsanto will need the brightest and most talented future scientists available,” said Dr. Floyd Hancock, Soybean Breeding Manager of the Monsanto facility at Stuttgart, Ark. “Supporting education is a way that Monsanto can help insure that the talent needed to reach our goal is available.”

The Monsanto Fund is the philanthropic arm of the Monsanto Company. Incorporated in 1964, the Fund’s primary objective is to improve the lives of people by bridging the gap between their needs and their resources. The Monsanto Fund is focused on grant-making in four main areas: nutritional well-being through agriculture; science education, primarily on professional development for teachers; healthy environment, which includes conservation, protection of biodiversity, clean water and restoration of wildlife habitat; and improving the quality of life in communities where Monsanto employees live and work.

Visit the Monsanto Fund at http://www.monsantofund.org/asp/welcome.asp.

The Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation inducted as new members of the Mulerider Society

Pictured above are Dr. David Rankin, SAU President, presenting the Mulerider Society Award to Mrs. Pat Walker and Ms. Debbie Walker of The Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation at the 2009 SAU Foundation Honor Societies Dinner.

The Mulerider Society recognizes those who, through contributions to the SAU Foundation, support any area of the University by making cumulative contributions of $500,000 or more.

The Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, through two grants to the Mulerider Baseball Program, has gifted $660,000 to benefit Southern Arkansas University and its students.

Other members of the Mulerider Society are:

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Fincher

Mr. and Mrs. Phillip E. Laney

Mr. and Mrs. John Rhea, Jr.

Farmers Bank and Trust

Your time is now – Join with your former teammates, friends, and family to support Mulerider Baseball

You can help move SAU Baseball to the next level of excellence by joining the Goodheart Society.

Southern Arkansas University is pleased to announce a unique opportunity for players and fans to recognize the commitment and accomplishments of Coach Steve Goodheart’s tenure at SAU by joining the Goodheart Society. Your gift of $1,000 or more to the Mulerider Baseball Complex will secure your membership in this prestigious organization. Members of the Goodheart Society will be listed on a permanent plaque at the new stadium facility. The goal of the Goodheart Society is to raise $200,000 to transform Mulerider Field into Goodheart Field.

Current Members of the Goodheart Society are:
Dr. and Mrs. David Rankin
George and Jerra Baylis
Dr. Mark Dixon
Friends and Family of Ralph Ross
Paul and Jeanie Bismark
Josh and Bekah Kee
Dr. and Mrs. Willis Beene
Mr. and Mrs. Allen Gum
Mr. Scott Rowland – Neill Forestry Consultants
Bill and Betty Stringfellow
Jay and Bonnie Adcox
Chris, Clarice, and John Long
Mike and Angie Waters
Renee Eads
Hollis and Ceceile Eads
Wayne Calloway
Bill Elmore
Ray and Daisy Helen Uhrich
Russ Mattes
Dr. John Coppett
Judge Kelvin Wyrick
Julia Laney Machen
Darrell and Kelli Morrison
Phil and Jean Brooks
SAU Alumni Association
John and Jayna Callender
Beth Anne Rankin in honor of Dr. David and Mrs. Toni Rankin
Ann Reeves Eddy
Mr. and Mrs. Nate Evers
Mr. and Mrs. Travis Buchanan
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tripp
Louis and Martha Blanchard
Mary Harsh
Bill O’Brien – Entegra
Lane and Judi Jean
Craig and Shelley Cheatham
Patsy Maddox
Larry and Jennifer Lundeen
Bob and Molly Burns
Steve and Brandy Browning
Jimmie and Mary Solomon
Cheryl, Matt, Katy Goodheart and Doris Warren
Sammie and Jennifer Mathis
Claude and Skeet Baker
Houston Taylor
Joe and Angela Pieratt

Click on the make a gift button on the right of this page to become a member of the Goodheart Society today.

Science Center Groundbreaking

The official ground breaking of the Southern Arkansas University Science Center was held from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., Friday, October 24, west of the Business Building.

The groundbreaking included brief comments from SAU President, Dr. David Rankin, Jasper Lewis, associate vice president for facilities, Dr. James Rasmussen, chair of the biology department and Kara J. Way, a senior pre-med biology student. Refreshments and light hors d’oeuvres were served.

The University Science Center is planned to be completed within the next year, a timeframe that will coincide with the University’s Centennial Celebration.

“This is going to be a tremendous facility with state-of-the-art technology that will serve students who are beginning our next centennial of success at Southern Arkansas University,” said SAU President Dr. David Rankin.

The cost of the 64,000-square-foot project is estimated to be $16,747, 986, which includes the main building, district cooling system upgrade, parking, landscaping, furniture, audiovisual equipment and design fees. The general contractor for the project is CDI Contractors of Little Rock and the architects are WER and Associates of Little Rock.

The new facility will house the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics within the College of Science and Technology. Planning for the Center began in 2003 when the Arkansas General Assembly appropriated $240,000 to SAU to prepare a proposal for a science and technology building. During the next two bienniums, the University received additional funding, and in 2006, Governor Mike Huckabee awarded $601,747 to the project. Governor Mike Beebe followed with a $1 million award in 2007.

As a result of a special election and the passage of the Higher Education Technology and Facility Improvement Act, SAU will receive $1,432,980 for the project. The University has also issued bonds in the amount of $14 million.

“The Southern Arkansas University Science Center will be the type of facility that will ensure that students who use the facility will be exceptionally well prepared for work or further education when they receive their degrees,” Rankin said. “Classes are currently held in five different buildings, and this center will help centralize many of the programs.”

The SAU Foundation is continuing to seek gifts for the completion of this project. Naming opportunities are available for many of the classrooms and offices. Please contact the SAU Foundation at 870-235-4078 for more information.

Mulerider baseball receives Walker Foundation grant

The Mulerider baseball team has received a $500,000 grant from the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc. based in Fayetteville.

The grant will be used to make improvements to the Southern Arkansas University baseball field, but plans have not yet been finalized. Some of the ideas being considered include a new score board, a new press box, a concession stand, public restrooms and possibly office space for coaches to meet with players and prospective recruits in private.

SAU Foundation Director Jeanie Bismark said she and Josh Kee, associate director of the foundation, received a letter Tuesday that the grant was accepted. The group applied for the grant in February.
On Wednesday morning, the pair, along with Mulerider Baseball Coach Allen Gum, SAU Athletic Director Jay Adcox and SAU President Dr. David Rankin, took part in a conference call thanking the foundation for the gift. They spoke to Debbie Walker, Executive Director of the Willard and Pat Walker Charitable Foundation.

“I just wanted to tell you what a huge difference these grants make in the baseball program,” Gum said. “So much of recruitment is driven by the quality of the facilities and we continue to attract better recruits each year with one of the nicest quality baseball fields in (NCAA) Division II baseball.”

The Walker Charitable Foundation first granted SAU a $160,000 matching grant in July 2005 which provided the lights at the baseball field.

Adcox described this year’s gift from the Walker Charitable Foundation as “tremendous” and said the benefits of a top notch baseball facility impact more than just the baseball team.

“This facility is a pride factor for the University and the whole community,” Adcox said.

Rankin said one of the goals for the University is to eventually to host the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Conference tournament which ended this past weekend. The Muleriders’ season ended at the semi-finals of the conference with a loss to Delta State.

The loss was the end of a phenomenal season by SAU (46-12) as they reached the 40-win plateau for the third consecutive year and reached the No. 1 ranking in the country in April for the first time in University history. Southern Arkansas’ 46 victories matches the highest season win total set by the 1987 NAIA World Series team that finished third in the nation.