Foundation/Development

Martin and Lilan Steinman

For several years, Deming, N.M., resident Lilian Steinman has been looking for just the right way to honor her late husband Martin and his relationship with the chile industry and the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at New Mexico State University. In the summer of 2002, President Jay Gogue and Vice President for University Advancement Rebecca Dukes discussed with her a new program created by the New Mexico Legislature to provide matching funds for private gifts earmarked for faculty enrichment programs.

“That idea just felt right,” Steinman said. “Martin was actively involved with the foods industry and, as president of Border Foods in Deming, was always looking for ways to expand and improve chile production. I wanted to support something that reflects his energy and spirit.”

To that end she created the Martin Steinman Endowed Professorship in Food Science and Technology. “A professorship is a dynamic vehicle, giving added support to a faculty member actively engaged in those areas of food production that were so important to Martin,” Steinman said.

The first recipient of this professorship, Lisa McKee, is a faculty member in family and consumer sciences. A former scientist for Kraft Foods Inc., her research focuses on the nutritional, chemical and physical evaluation of chiles and related products.

Although reluctant to talk about herself, a second endowment—dedicated to the art department — carries Lilian’s name.

“I love to paint,” she said. “I don’t remember when I didn’t have a pencil in my hand, but I got married at 19 so it wasn’t until later that I went back to school, taking art classes here and there.”

Now she devotes a lot of time and energy to her painting, working in oil and watercolor, and is anxious to share this love of art with her four granddaughters.

The art department will have the opportunity to enrich their students’ experience through the new visiting artist program funded by her endowment. Department head Joshua Rose said his faculty were elated to learn of this gift. “It solves a perennial problem we face of raising funds to bring artists with national reputations to New Mexico State,” he said. “By exposing our students to working artists, we will greatly expand their educational experience.”

Ann Palormo

Hewlett Foundation award benefits College of Engineering

New Mexico State University is one of nine western colleges and universities to receive an award from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The funding will enhance undergraduate engineering programs.

The $1.1 million award for the College of Engineering will initiate the Hewlett Foundation Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program. The award will be distributed over a period of five years.

Ricardo B. Jacquez, the interim department head of civil and geological engineering, said the program will target pre-college and undergraduate students.

“The project will address the educational pathway leading to improved recruitment, retention and graduation of more and better educated engineers,” Jacquez said. “We plan to survey students, teachers and parents to determine factors that influence middle and high school students’ choices to pursue careers in engineering.

“The project also will be used in collaboration with the Math Prep Program to increase the number of students who participate in the pre-engineering summer bridge program,” he said. “At the undergraduate level it will create integrated clustering of the first year freshmen and reform teaching and learning of engineering design concepts.”

Rebecca Sellars, director of corporate and foundation relations, characterized the award as a great opportunity for New Mexico State University.

“In addition to benefiting the College of Engineering, the program will use existing relationships with the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education while building new relationships with the Hewlett Foundation and our area high schools,” she said.

William Hewlett “recognized that much of the ‘backbone’ of the Hewlett-Packard Company came from bachelor’s and master’s engineering graduates of colleges and universities in America’s western rural states,” said Mike Smith, the foundation’s education program director. “In memory of Mr. Hewlett, the foundation is providing assistance to several of these institutions as both a measure of its appreciation for the societal contributions of their engineering alumni and as a way to help improve the quality and quantity of engineering graduates.”

Other institutions selected to receive this award are Boise State University, Colorado School of Mines, Montana State University, Northern Arizona University, Oregon State University, the University of Nevada at Reno, the University of Utah and the University of Wyoming.

Jeany Llorente ’00

AIEF grant provides added scholarship resources

In the summer of 2002, New Mexico State University was one of three higher education institutions invited by the American Indian Education Foundation (AIEF) to participate in a special challenge grant program. AIEF offered up to $10,000 to match funds raised from private sources. These funds will be used to support scholarships for American Indian students studying at New Mexico State.

According to AIEF, only 17 percent of American Indian high school graduates go on to college. This compares to 62 percent among other high school graduates. One of the major factors cited is lack of funds to cover education costs. Malinda Griffith, program coordinator for AIEF, said students receiving scholarship support can study in any academic area.

Thanks to support from the Public Service Company of New Mexico, Raytheon Co., Shell Oil Co. and a long-time donor to the university’s American Indian program, $10,000 was raised in new gifts to meet the deadline to qualify for the matching funds.

According to Don Pepion, director of the American Indian Program, they frequently have students requesting additional support to meet their college expenses. This new infusion of $20,000 earmarked for scholarships will help to meet those needs.

Ann Palormo

From left, geology professor Tim Lawton and Geological Sciences Department Head Tom Giordano meet with Dinah Jentgen and her daughter, Alanna Jentgen. The Jentgens have established the new Russell Jentgen endowed scholarship in geological sciences.

Jentgen endowment supports geological sciences Dinah Jentgen, a New Mexico State University alumna and librarian at Zia Middle School, and daughter Alanna Jentgen, a current Aggie student majoring in geography, have established a new endowed scholarship in the university’s Department of Geological Sciences in memory of husband and father Russell Walter Jentgen, who passed away in May 2002 after a long bout with cancer.

A native New Mexican, Russell was born in Clovis, attended Roswell High School and graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in geology in 1970. While at New Mexico State, Russell was a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda Fraternity and participated in the Army ROTC. Russell spent a productive career as a geologist working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Bureau of Land Management. The Russell Jentgen Scholarship will be awarded annually to one or more undergraduate students majoring in geology. “Russell had to work his way through college and there were many times when he thought he was going to have to give up school to support himself,” Dinah Jentgen said. “My hope is that each year this scholarship will enable a good student to drop that timeconsuming, energy-zapping job and dedicate him or herself to geology studies. Russell would have appreciated that kind of assistance when he was a student at State.” Cindy Hoffmann

Marriott donation to equip food production labs

A $150,000 gift from the Marriott Foundation will fund equipment for a commercial food production teaching laboratory for New Mexico State University students in hotel, restaurant and tourism management.

The donation from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation will buy a walk-in cooler and freezer, refrigerated counters, stainless steel work stations and a wide range of cooking facilities.

Dr. Priscilla Bloomquist, an associate professor in the department who wrote the funding proposal, received word of the gift in May 2002 from Mary Ann Gunsteens, executive director of the Marriott Foundation.

The gift was the second in two months for the hospitality program. Darden Restaurants recently provided $40,000 for laboratories and $10,000 for minority scholarships in response to a proposal from Keith Mandabach, an assistant professor in the department.

Interim Department Head Janet Green said the two gifts, along with proceeds from capital campaign fundraisers, brought total private funding for new laboratories to approximately $250,000.

D’Lyn Ford

Gift supports athletics

People say thank you in many different ways. Businessman Stan Fulton of Las Vegas, Nev., received a holiday gift of pecans from President and Mrs. Gogue in appreciation for his previous support of New Mexico State.

Fulton reciprocated with a thank you gift of his own— a check for $800,000 to fulfill his commitment to the building fund for the proposed athletic facility adjoining Aggie Memorial Stadium scheduled for construction this year. Accompanying the check was a note to the president that read, “It may seem nuts to you, but the gift of the pecans that we received meant so much to me that I have decided to do something that I said I wouldn’t do— give more money until you broke ground.”

Fulton continues as the owner of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino after selling his principal business, Anchor Gaming, in 1999.

Send questions/comments to Brian Stika, webmaster for Aggie Panorama.