Why We Give

We are thankful for those who have made an estate gift to Michigan State University. Here are their stories.

Marge des Lauriers

An MSU Love Story, Told Through Life Stories

For Marge des Lauriers and her late husband Brad, making an impact at MSU is their way to show love.

Dan and Karen Friderici

Helping Aspiring Scientists Live the Laboratory Life

Take a stroll through any campus research building on any given day, and you’ll feel it: an air of mystery. It surrounds the potentially groundbreaking science taking place in the labs that line the hallway, as much as it surrounds the people in the labs themselves.

Rohini Mulchandani

Spartan Women in Philanthropy: Rohini Mulchandani, ’66

For Rohini Mulchandani, ’66, a fellowship was key to her ability to pursue her master’s degree at MSU. She is paying it forward by funding her own graduate fellowship so future students will be able to achieve their dreams, just as she has done.

Spartan Women in Philanthropy: Susan Goldberg, ’84

Susan Goldberg ’84 has spent her career breaking barriers in the world of journalism. Her planned gifts to the College of Communication Arts and Sciences will help future student-journalists do the same.

Carol Prahinski and Flemming Mathiasen

Bringing Beauty to the World, One Gift at a Time

The story begins on a snowy winter night in 2009. “I heard a cat insistently meowing, and I thought it was our black cat Toby, who should have been on our screened-in back porch,” says Carol Prahinski.

Linda E. Landon’s Legacy

Linda Eoline (Vought) Landon was born in New York in 1856 and later moved with her family to Niles, Michigan. There, she married Rufus W. Landon in 1877.

Selma Hollander

Remembering Selma Hollander

A major patron and supporter of the College of Music, a friend to many, and a lively presence in Fairchild Theatre, Cook Recital Hall, at musicology lectures and throughout the community has passed away.

Ruth Sotak with her horse, Red

Combining a Love of Horses With a Gift for MSU

Ruth Sotak was a student at MSU in the 1980s. But, it wasn't until four years ago that the horse enthusiast learned about Michigan State's horse farm. "Isn't it interesting that the one thing I really wanted in my life I didn't know Michigan State offered—the horse farm?" she says.

Margaret Tangenberg

A Scholarship Comes Full Circle

The year was 1955. John Hannah was at the mid-point of his long tenure, leading Michigan State through unprecedented growth. The school was celebrating its first 100 years of shaping minds, and 3,000 students were bestowed their undergraduate degrees, among them Margaret "Marge" Tangenberg of Grand Rapids.

Dan and Janet Chegwidden

A Legacy 30 Years in the Making

If there has been one constant in University Advancement over the past 30 years, it has been Dan Chegwidden. He is the pioneer of what MSU knows today as the Office of Gift Planning, having served as the senior director for its entirety. As the Empower Extraordinary campaign came to a close in December 2018, so did Dan's committed and accomplished career at MSU.

John and Ethel Anthony

Committed to Community

MSU has played an important role in John and Ethel Anthony's lives. Gratitude defines their commitment to Michigan State and East Lansing.

Jim and Janet Ireland

Training Next Generation a Top Priority for MSU Researchers

A husband-and-wife team of MSU researchers will fund annual scholarships for PhD candidates through their estates after their lifetimes.

Kurt and Debbie help build a healthy Michigan State University through planned giving.

Building a Healthy MSU

Kurt and Mary Dunkel have made numerous short- and long-term commitments to MSU, including support to fund a residency and build a new critical care facility at the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Giving Back to Celebrate the Journey

David and Mary Jessup celebrate their journey at MSU by making gifts to support programs that had a positive impact on them.

Barbara and Paul provide a generous future gift to MSU to benefit developing countries in Africa.

Finding Synergy With MSU

Paul Bishop and his wife, Barbara, created a family endowment to support an MSU program that provides safe water, health, sanitation, hygiene or education in developing countries.

Transformed by Education

A scholarship allowed Jeanne Day to attend Michigan State University, where she later met her husband, Denver. To allow other students a similar opportunity, the couple created the Denver and Jeanne Day Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Erica Montressor

Study Abroad Experience Inspires Meaningful Gift

See how easy it was for one alumna to make an estate gift to support the Study Abroad program.

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Sue and Fred Leitert

Alumni to Give Their Home in the Name of Education

Alums Fred and Susan Leitert fell in love with Michigan State and decided to use their home to fund engineering scholarship to MSU students.

Yvonne Wilson garden sign

Yvonne Wilson: More Than a Donor, a Legacy for MSU Horticulture Gardens

MSU alumna Yvonne Wilson made her first gift to the university more than three decades ago. Though modest, the contribution laid the foundation for more than $1.5 million of giving to MSU throughout her lifetime.

Edwin Carpenter

The (Extraordinary) Fruits of Labor

Edwin L. Carpenter loved three things in life: working, agriculture and MSU. As a result of his lifelong commitment to work—and the fruits of a career that lasted through age 90—Carpenter was able to make a gift upon his death in 2014 that jointly honored his two other loves: a $1.6 million donation to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Alumnus Embraces His Role in University’s Future

A Michigan State counselor convinced Vince Foster to major in accounting simply by noting it was difficult. "That seemed to fit me," Vince says.