Alumnus creates fund for scholarships, technology
 

Gutierrez

The road from Andres Mark Gutierrez's hometown of Alamogordo, N.M., to his current home in Fremont, Calif., has led to a variety of career opportunities and some surprises. The 46-year-old entrepreneur was born and raised in Alamogordo and began college at the NMSU-Alamogordo campus. When he hit the road for the main campus in the late 1970s, his major was elementary education. Although he earned his bachelor's in that field, it was his work experience for the Physical Science Laboratory at White Sands Missile Range that directed his future. This hands-on education in mainframe computing influenced his decision to work toward an MBA at NMSU.

When he earned his master's in 1983, Gutierrez hit the road again, heading for California's Pacific Bell. He remained there 13 years before joining Pacific Bell Internet, a start-up subsidiary, in October 1995. Gutierrez led the development of products and systems infrastructures needed to launch that business six months later. He was vice president for production and systems development when he took early retirement in 1998 and joined SCIENT, a start-up company with a focus on e-business systems innovation.

As SCIENT's master architect, he advised dot.com and Fortune 500 companies on building and deploying electronic businesses. The company went public last year. Gutierrez's financial success in the venture led him to establish a deferred gift annuity for NMSU valued at just under $500,000. This fund will provide campus-wide support for student scholarships and technology improvements. Gutierrez made the gift, he said, because it was an opportunity to give back to what he considers the foundation for his success: education. Gutierrez is now engaged in an advisory role for dot.com and wireless companies. He and a business partner also build and deploy new electronic businesses.

Ann Palormo
 

A deferred gift annuity operates like an IRA. Like a charitable gift annuity, it gives the donor a substantial charitable income tax deduction the year the gift is made. Payments are deferred to a future date, usually after retirement. This annuity enables donors to make a gift and receive an income tax deduction while providing an income stream for the future

Agilent supports circuit design laboratory

Agilent Technologies has made an equipment grant valued at $111,500 to the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Agilent, a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard, is a technology company focusing on the communications, electronics, life sciences and health-care industries.

The Agilent grant will be used to develop a very large scale integrated systems (VLSI) circuit design laboratory. Supervised by NMSU Professor Jaime Ramirez-Angulo, the laboratory is unique in that it will emphasize the design of both analog and digital VLSI circuits. Arlene Yusnukis, '85, Agilent's campus manager for NMSU, and Rebecca Sellars, '83, '87, '95, of the NMSU Advancement Office, worked with Ramirez-Angulo to develop the successful proposal.

"Agilent Technologies is extremely pleased to award this grant to the Klipsch School," said John Scruggs, '64, senior vice president and general manager of Agilent's Automated Test Group. "As the Web goes wireless, our society will be further transformed, and the technology explored in this lab will be fundamental in that evolution."

Hewlett-Packard and now Agilent have historically provided strong support for NMSU's engineering programs, and have benefitted through the many NMSU graduates that are now working for the companies, said Steven Castillo, head of the Klipsch School.

Advancement official's book wins national prize
 

Jordan

NMSU's Ron Jordan has won the 2000 National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE) Staley/ Robeson/Ryan/St. Lawrence Prize for research on fund raising and philanthropy. Jordan is assistant vice president for University Advancement and executive director of University Development. He won the prize for his book Planned Giving: Management, Marketing and Law, which he co-wrote with Katelyn Quynn, director of planned giving and major gifts at Massachusetts General Hospital in Wellesley, Mass. Jordan and Quynn accepted the award in March during the NSFRE International Conference on Fund Raising in New Orleans. They presented their book at a session followed by a book signing in the NSFRE Bookstore.

The book describes the management and legal issues involved with planned giving. It discusses marketing, taxation, estate and financial planning, the growing role of donor advisers, the role of planned giving within an organization and various types of planned gifts.

The book was written for fund-raising professionals and lawyers, accountants and financial planners who work with charitable gifts.

Planned Giving is available through John Wiley and Sons by calling (800) 225-5945 or on the Web at http://www.wiley.com. For more information, contact Ron Jordan at (505) 646-1106.

. Thanks, Bank of America

Photo by Michael Kiernan

A $10,000 donation to NMSU from Bank of America will help support NMSU students in the Southwest Banking Center, a program designed to prepare business students to enter the banking industry. NMSU President William B. Conroy, left, accepts the check on behalf of the university. With him are, from left, Lisa Gleisner, regional executive for Bank of America, Chuck Widger, senior banking executive for Bank of America, Danny Arnold, NMSU business college dean, and Joe Creed, NMSU interim vice president for university advancement.

Foundation honors donors at annual ball

William and Nancy Fiske, left, and May  and Clay Fiske, new Crimson Society members, are among the honorees at the President's Associates Recognition Ball.

Food, fun and friends were in abundance as NMSU honored its donors at the annual President's Associates Recognition Ball in early March. This year donors were honored for their giving to both athletic and university programs. NMSU recognizes donors for their cumulative giving at several levels. University Ambassadors contribute from $10,000 to $24,999. There are now 381 donors at this level. President's Council, a newly created giving club, honors those with totals between $25,000 and $50,000. In this charter year, 125 donors were recognized. Regents Associates' support is between $50,000 and $100,000. Seventy-nine donors have achieved this level. Crimson Society honors 51 donors giving between $100,000 and $250,000. Circle of Excellence Bronze honors donors with support between $250,000 and $500,000. There are now 25 donors at this level. Circle of Excellence Silver recognizes donors with totals over $500,000. Thirteen donors have this level of support.