Category: Foundation News

Brent (’02) and Lindsey Sobczak (’03), are helping Marshall Rise through their recent gift to support major initiatives in the university’s comprehensive campaign.  The $25,000 contribution will be split between the new College of Business facility and Marshall University’s long-awaited baseball stadium.

Both Brent and Lindsey Sobczak came to Huntington as “outsiders.” Both recruited as student-athletes, they studied in Marshall University’s Lewis College of Business and wanted to give back to the institution that was important to them on a personal level.

“When we left Huntington, we were family,” said Brent. “We had such positive experiences, both academically and athletically, at Marshall that we felt it was important to give back.”

Dr. Ron Area, chief executive officer of the Marshall University Foundation, says he is highly encouraged by the generosity of this young couple.

“For the Sobczaks to make a gift of this capacity to their alma mater with three young children truly inspires me. Their gift is the direct result from their time as students who saw their Marshall family step up and support their dreams and goals,” Area said. “I am confident that this commitment will motivate other young alumni to demonstrate their gratitude for Marshall University.”

It is the Sobczaks’ hope that their gift will help the Brad D. Smith Schools of Business recruit and retain world-class talent because of the state-of-the-art facility, which will be located at 4th Avenue and 15th Street.

As for their support to the new baseball stadium, the couple understands the tremendous impact this facility will have on Marshall University and the region.

“We are so impressed with the improvements being made to all of the athletic facilities since we were student-athletes. We wanted to do our part to ensure that progress continues,” Brent Sobczak said.

Residents of Columbus, Ohio, the Sobczaks encourage students to ask questions, enjoy experiences and to take opportunities.

“Do not be afraid or intimidated by failure; it’s part of the growing process,” Brent Sobczak said. “Always do what you can to help others, especially during times like this when it is most important.”

Grant and Kheng McGuire recently established the Nell Bailey Endowment for the Society of Yeager Scholars. Kheng McGuire has served on the Yeager Board of Directors since 2017 and Grant McGuire says the Bailey family meant a lot to them.

“We were blessed to have friends like Nell and her mother, Pearl, when we first moved to Huntington,” said Grant McGuire. “Nell loved the students at Marshall University and was excited about the Yeager Scholars program, which challenged these scholars and developed their potential.”

Dr. Nell C. Bailey, who passed away in December of 2018, was the first woman to be appointed vice president at Marshall University when she was named vice president and dean of student affairs in 1984. After serving in that position for eight years, Bailey returned to teaching in 1992 and worked in conjunction with the university’s president as a special assistant. She also served as the dean for the Center for Adult and Extended Education.

Bailey received her bachelor’s degree in education from the former Salem College in 1956 and went on to earn her master’s degree in education from Kent State University. She then received her doctorate from Indiana University. She held administrative and teaching positions at Salem College, Kent State University, Indiana University, Bethany College and Illinois State University prior to serving at Marshall. Honors College Dean Dr. Nicki LoCascio says Nell Bailey was an important part of the lives of the students she helped.

“I had the privilege of knowing Nell Bailey and saw firsthand her tireless mentoring and care for students at Marshall University. The McGuires’ generous gift honors a remarkable woman, and I am grateful for their support,” LoCascio said.

Endowments established for the Society of Yeager Scholars provide resources such as tuition, room and board, books, study abroad opportunities and more for students who represent the program.

Those who wish to contribute to the Nell Bailey Endowment for the Society of Yeager Scholars may do so by mailing a check to the Marshall University Foundation Inc., 519 John Marshall Dr., Huntington, WV 25703, with the scholarship name in the memo line, or by visiting https://give.marshall.edu/project/26398/ and inserting the scholarship name in the comment box.

For more information about the Society of Yeager Scholars, please contact Cara Bailey, coordinator of the Yeager program, by  e-mail at bailey160@marshall.edu.

Gayle A. Brazeau, Ph.D, dean of the Marshall University School of Pharmacy, and Daniel Brazeau, Ph.D., associate professor at the school, have endowed the Fairfield Community Pharmacy Scholarship.

“We would like to see local students of all diversity succeed and be encouraged to pursue their dream of an education, most especially those who have a passion for the pharmacy profession,” said Gayle Brazeau.

The scholarship recipient will be a full-time, incoming freshman, undergraduate student who is majoring in biology or chemistry in the College of Science with a pre-pharmacy emphasis and plans to matriculate into the School of Pharmacy. The student must also demonstrate need per the standards of the Office of Student Financial Assistance. First preference will be given to a Huntington High School graduate, second to any resident of Cabell County and third to any West Virginia resident.

Students interested in this scholarship can inquire and apply by e-mailing sfa@marshall.edu. Each year, a new recipient will be selected and awarded $500 a year during their freshman and sophomore undergraduate years and their first (P1) and second (P2) pharmacy school years.

“We were inspired to do this because of three remarkable women in Huntington who have blessed our lives,” said Gayle Brazeau. “Sandra Clements, Mary Hodges and Doris Andrews have shown us the importance of caring and giving back to the Huntington Community and the Marshall family.”

The School of Pharmacy is located in Stephen J. Kopp Hall at 1538 Charleston Avenue and a proud participant in Huntington’s Fairfield Community.

To learn more about establishing a scholarship or to make a gift by phone, please contact the Marshall University Foundation at 304-696-6264. To make a gift online, please visit www.marshall.edu/donate.

Dr. Leslie Petteys, a retired professor of music at Marshall, made a $50,000 gift to support and finalize the purchase of an anaerobic digester for University Heights, the university’s new composting facility. Because of her generous donation, University Heights will now be fully operational by July 2020.

Located off Route 60 in Huntington, University Heights will allow Marshall University to be approximately 70% waste free. In addition to providing job and internship opportunities for Marshall students and community members, the composting facility will collect and recycle organic waste from the university’s Huntington campus to compost and reuse on campus grounds.

Marshall University’s Sustainability Department has secured an underdeveloped, 60-acre land tract that is 4.5 miles from the Huntington campus to construct the compost, hydroponic and greenhouse facility. The facility will also be used as a laboratory space for the Specialty Agriculture major that is currently being developed through the Natural Resources and Environment Departments in the College of Science.

“I am so impressed that Marshall has a Sustainability Department,” Petteys said. “I applaud Lauren Kemp and Eve Marcum Atkinson for the pioneering work they did to get it off the ground. Amy Parsons-White has definitely taken the department to the next level and I am impressed by the initiatives she has instituted. I can’t wait to see how else Marshall and the Sustainability Department create many more firsts in the state and region.”

“Since my college days, I have been interested in green initiatives, gardening and recycling. I think the composting project, the new agriculture degree, and other trainings and partnerships the Sustainability Department and Marshall are creating will have a great impact, making this corner of the world more sustainable self sufficient and setting a great example for other communities.”

Amy Parsons-White, sustainability manager, is grateful for individuals like Petteys and Tom Wolf, who have made generous contributions to make this project a reality.

“I am thankful for the support I have received from President Gilbert, the Huntington and the Marshall communities. The compost facility will put us one step closer to our goal of being waste free by 2025. It’s an ambitious goal, but it’s one we can accomplish,” Parsons-White said.

The university’s new composting facility was announced in November 2019, and with this last piece of equipment secured, the fully functional facility will hold up to eight cubic yards of waste at a time and can be harvested daily. The compost will be finished in a 5’ x 40’ worm bin, which will hold 50,000 red wiggler worms. Compost produced by the worms will be harvested twice a week and will be the finished product that will be used on the Huntington campus and sold to the public.

For more information about University Heights or other projects within the Sustainability Department, contact Parsons-White at parsons133@marshall.edu.

Ohio Valley Bank recently made a $50,000 gift in support of Marshall University’s new College of Business facility, which will be constructed at 4th Avenue and 15th Street. Construction will begin soon, as the Marshall University’s Board of Governors recently approved the off-campus location, further expanding Marshall University into downtown Huntington and the local business sector.

Continuing their generous support of Marshall’s students and the university’s initiatives, Ohio Valley Bank has provided funds that encourage educational excellence across many disciplines and through scholarships for six consecutive years.

“Ohio Valley Bank’s mission is Community First. Our job is to help our hometowns thrive, and as a local institution of higher learning, Marshall University plays an important role in securing a successful future for our community,” said Larry Miller, president of Ohio Valley Bank.

“Too often we see talented young men and women grow up and leave home to pursue their dreams. We applaud Marshall University for their efforts to keep our ‘homegrown’ talent where they are needed most. Having a constantly improving campus with industry-edge technology and educators right here in Huntington signals to the next generation that they do not have to leave to thrive,” Miller said. “Keeping these youth local means more than sustaining the population, it also means more qualified job applicants for our area’s businesses and connected citizens to succeed leadership roles.”

Dr. Jerome Gilbert, president of the university, said he hopes others will be in inspired by the generosity of Ohio Valley Bank.

“When we announced plans to build a new College of Business building for our students, we knew we would need help from key players in our region who want to support the growth and advancement of our graduates,” Gilbert said. “We are grateful for business leaders like Larry Miller, Bryan Stepp and Mario Liberatore, and companies like Ohio Valley Bank who step up, and give back in a way that will make a truly positive impact on future Sons and Daughters of Marshall for years to come.”

The plan to construct a new College of Business facility was announced after a $25 million gift from Brad and Alys Smith in the fall of 2018. The facility will house Marshall University’s Center for Entrepreneurial and Business Innovation (iCenter), and accommodate two new degree programs, a Bachelor of Arts in General Business and a Doctor of Business Administration.

The Patricia “Patty” Green Graduate Strings Scholarship has been created in honor of Green, a past violin faculty member at Marshall University and beloved teacher to generations of Huntington residents.

The scholarship was established anonymously, and supports a graduate student who is a string major in the School of Music and in good academic standing. First preference goes to a violinist, and second preference goes to another bowed string (cello, viola) player. The award is renewable as long as the recipient maintains good academic standing.

Green graduated from Huntington East High School in 1947 before receiving a degree in music education from Marshall University in 1951.  She  left her home state to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree at Ohio University, and for her first two years of teaching, she taught at St. Mary’s High School, in Pleasants County, West Virginia. She returned to Huntington to teach at Marshall’s Laboratory School for 17 years, where she taught and also trained student teachers. During this time, she became an assistant professor.  After the lab school closed in 1970, she moved to the music department at Marshall as an associate professor, where she continued to teach music education and offer violin lessons.

A 2016 recipient of The Herald-Dispatch Citizen Award for the Arts, Green was honored for her dedication to musical arts education and her lasting impact on generations of musicians.

With the creation of this scholarship, her hope is that the next generation can continue to keep music alive in Huntington.

“Music is a part of everybody’s lives, from the time we get up in the morning until we go to bed at night, whether it’s at a football game, grocery store, or restaurant. We need to support the arts, especially the classic arts,” said. “My string teachers were wonderful and I would not have been the violinist I am without them. It has affected my life, seeing students who have gone ahead with music and made it a part of their life, whether it be professionally or that it has just enriched their everyday life. Marshall has outstanding violin and cello professors now, Drs. Reed Smith and Şölen Dikener are fine performers and educators. It is important to support Marshall’s music department to continue strengthening the bowed string area of education.”

To contribute to the Patricia “Patty” Green Graduate Strings Scholarship, please visit www.marshall.edu/donate and include the scholarship name in the notes section, or mail a check to 519 John Marshall Dr. Huntington, WV 25703 and include the scholarship name in the memo line. To learn more about this scholarship, please contact the College of Arts and Media at 304-696-6433.

Marshall University President Jerome A. Gilbert today announced alumnus and Intuit Chairman and CEO Brad D. Smith and his wife, Alys Smith, have made a $25 million gift to the university’s Lewis College of Business.

Gilbert said the Smiths’ gift—one of the largest in Marshall’s history—is “transformational” and will provide new and dynamic opportunities for current and future business students.

“It is with great excitement that the university announces this magnificent gift from Brad and Alys Smith,” he said. “Their generosity will provide a strong foundation for the redesign, reorganization and reenergizing of our college of business.”

In announcing the gift, Gilbert said the university is proud of its alumni, like Smith, who have built outstanding careers with the education they received at Marshall.

“The commitments Brad and Alys have made to Marshall over the past five years are changing the lives of our business students for generations to come,” he added. “They are setting a prime example of career and philanthropic goals for our students.”

Brad Smith, who graduated from Marshall in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, said he and his wife are enthusiastic about aiding the school and its students through continued education and academic expansion.

“Alys and I are passionate about education and economic empowerment in West Virginia, Ohio and the surrounding Appalachia area,” he said. “We believe in supporting programs that are strategic, enduring and making a lasting impact on students. We appreciate the opportunity to continue to work with Marshall leaders to bring new insights in business programs to reality.”

Dr. Avinandan “Avi” Mukherjee, dean of the Lewis College of Business, said the gift will allow Marshall to rework its business curriculum and build new facilities.

Mukherjee said, “In addition to redesigning our programs through experiential learning and close industry-academic partnerships, we will build new facilities with spaces to nurture collaboration, creativity and entrepreneurship. In appreciation for the Smiths’ vote of confidence, we will name our new business building the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation.”

“In this new building intended to promote teamwork and hands-on learning, students will find creative ways to apply problem-solving strategies, which will be invaluable to them in the workforce,” he continued. “The new iCenter space will allow our students’ and community members’ dreams to come to fruition. This generous gift is truly a game-changer for our business programs, as we can now aspire to the next level of excellence. Today will be recognized as a pivotal moment for the university, as well as for the entire region.”

Mukherjee said the location of the new business building will be announced at a later date.

In recognition of the Smiths’ gift, the college of business also will name its undergraduate and graduate schools the Brad D. Smith Undergraduate School of Business and the Brad D. Smith Graduate School of Business, respectively.

Dr. Jaime R. Taylor, Marshall’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said, “Upon meeting Brad and Alys, I understood why everyone at Marshall values their friendship. Their vision to help our students lies in the belief that, with a good education, anything is possible.”

The Smiths previously established the Brad D. and Alys Smith Family Scholarship at Marshall for West Virginia and Ohio students, with preference for first-generation college students. Their past support was recognized by the Marshall University Foundation Board of Directors in 2015, when the board named the foundation’s building the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall.

Brad Smith has been intimately involved in a number of Marshall projects over the years, including 2017’s Design for Delight challenge, which included Intuit leaders visiting Huntington to help Marshall students create business plans. The program culminated in a competition judged by Smith, actress and West Virginia native Jennifer Garner, and former Marshall and NFL quarterback Chad Pennington.

Dr. Ron Area, chief executive officer of the Marshall University Foundation, said he hopes the Smiths’ leadership gift inspires others.

“Brad and Alys are caring individuals who fervently champion the success of students,” Area said. “The fact that Brad believes Marshall prepared him for the business world and is willing to allow us to propose that our undergraduate and graduate schools be named for him truly represents the quality of our curriculum and our programs. We are honored this fine couple continues to invest in Marshall students and are excited for this new phase of educational excellence.”

Brad Smith, who has led Silicon Valley software giant Intuit for 11 years, and Alys Smith, an attorney, live in California. They have two daughters, Payton and Devon. Brad Smith was born in Huntington and grew up in the nearby town of Kenova. After graduating from Marshall in 1986, he received his Master of Business Administration degree from Aquinas College in Michigan. Alys Smith graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and then graduated with a law degree from the University of Akron School of Law.

During Brad Smith’s tenure as CEO, Intuit has grown and thrived, while consistently being recognized as one of the world’s best places to work. Intuit has placed on the Fortune Best Companies to Work For list each year, ranking #13 in the United States in 2017, as well as being ranked the #1 best place to work in India, Singapore and Canada in 2017. He is ranked among the top executives in the United States by Fortune, coming in at #6 on their list of top CEOs.

In 2011, he was inducted into the Lewis College of Business Hall of Fame. He was inducted into West Virginia’s Business Hall of Fame earlier this year.

Marshall’s Lewis College of Business is among only one percent of business schools worldwide to be accredited in both business and accounting by AACSB International. The college boasts more than 12,000 alumni around the world.