mark dantonio - MSU Alumni Association - Michigan State University

MSU needs some $80 million
more to reach the endowment
goal—a huge feat but not
insurmountable. The impact
could be tremendous.
success story, especially considering
that the only other universitywide
campaign in MSU’s history
peaked at $217 million. Both
campaigns owe everything to
the incredibly generous alumni
of MSU and those corporations,
foundations and other individuals
who believe so strongly in its
mission and ability.
Billy Rose, an American
theatrical producer and lyricist,
once said, “Never invest your
money in anything that eats or
needs repairing.” Well, there’s
always something to repair at
a university, and just ask our
on campus cafeterias if MSU
students can eat. Yet thousands
of people and organizations
thankfully never took Mr.
Rose’s advice—and the payoff
has been fantastic.
Take for example renowned
musicians and MSU faculty
members Walter and Elsa Verdehr
who are among that
thankfully growing list of
donors who value the benefits
of earmarking their gifts for
endowment.
Walter, professor of violin, and
Elsa, professor of clarinet, have
been on the faculty of the School
of Music since 1968 and 1962,
respectively. They married in
Elsa and Walter Verdehr, of MSU’s renowned Verdehr Trio.
1971 and established the unique
Verdehr Trio in 1972 as a way
to travel and perform together.
There was a lack of music for the
violin-clarinet-piano combination
at the time, so the Verdehrs
took matters into their own
hands by commissioning works
to expand the repertoire for this
unique instrumentation. They
have now commissioned over
200 new works for this combination,
many with the help of
MSU, have traveled worldwide
and recorded twenty compact
discs presenting this literature.
During The Campaign for
MSU, The Verdehrs’ established
a gift from their estate
which is directed primarily to
creating endowed named fellowships
in violin and clarinet.
The MSU School of Music can
now show promising young
musicians that there is support
here for people specializing in
those instruments.
Even though the primary
benefit will come in the form of
well-funded fellowships years
from now, it immediately becomes
an important recruit ment
tool to ensure these areas continue
to attract the most musically
talented graduate students.
“We have watched the astounding
growth of MSU
over the 40 years we have both
taught here and have been very
pleased to see the institution
develop in the ways it has,” Elsa
said. “It makes us very proud to
be a part of this great university
and we wish to show this in
a tangible way, one that will
benefit future generations of
students and teachers.”
The future is the key, along
with stability. How do generous
donors like the Verdehrs
know that their gift, whether
cash now or a planned estate
gift later, will be there for its
intended purpose? One need
only glance at MSU’s track record
in the investment department
to be assured.
Michigan State University’s
investment performance continues
to be superior over the
past decade. The National
Association of College and
University Business Officers
(NACUBO) annually surveys
its member institutions on investment
pool returns. Results
from the NACUBO Endowment
Study for the ten years
ending June 30, 2004 placed
MSU’s average annual return of
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