Gifts support academic pursuits

Two gifts from the Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC) totaling more than $3 million head the list of gifts to Ohio State accepted Aug. 29 by the University's Board of Trustees. Gifts totaling more than $7 million will be used to establish 25 new endowed funds supporting scholarships and programs, an endowed chair and a designated professorship. Trustees also accepted 465 research grants and contracts totaling more than $52 million awarded to Ohio State in June and July.

The TRC gifts are in recognition of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s and Honda of America Mfg. Inc.'s interest in advancing the delivery of engineering education. The Honda/TRC Classroom of the Future Fund, established with $1.01 million, will support efforts to improve distance and online learning facilities for the College of Engineering. The Honda/TRC Funds Endowment for Interdisciplinary Research Infrastructure Support, established with $2.08 million, will support laboratory facilities in the College of Engineering.

The Jack L. Beal Chair in Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy has been established with a gift of $1.57 million from friends and students of Beal, professor emeritus and associate dean of the College of Pharmacy. The annual income from the endowment will support a distinguished professor of pharmacognosy and natural products chemistry in the Division of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy.

The Edwin M. Cooperman Designated Professorship in Law, established with a gift of $126,870 from OSU alumnus Cooperman, will support a faculty position in the Michael E. Moritz College of Law.

Other named endowed funds include the following:

• The Reading Recovery¨ Endowed Fund, $760,000.

• The Doris Duke Endowment Fund for the Performing Arts at the Wexner Center for the Arts, $400,000.

• The James L. Deagle Innovation Fund, $201,273.

• The Joseph G. and Mary B. Kaenzig Innovation Endowment Fund, $158,852.

• The Gerard Paul Planchard Medalist Scholarship Fund, $101,025.

• The Deagle Family Scholarship Fund, $100,000.

• The Thomas A. and Diann G. Mann Distinguished Symposium Series Fund, $100,000.

• The Consolidated Electric Cooperative Endowed Scholarship Fund, $50,000.

• The Modern Greek Studies Fund, $50,000.

• The Robert D. and Margaret M. Walter Endowment Fund for Cancer Research, $50,000.

• The Robert L. McCombs Cancer Research Endowment Fund, $48,410.

• The John Circle Memorial Fund, $45,607.

• The Carole A. Anderson Graduate Fellowship Endowment Fund, $35,863.

• The Daryl and Roberta Siedentop Professorship Fund in Children's Sport and Physical Education, $26,000.

• Sneaker the Cat Endowed Scholarship Fund, $25,700.

• The Jonathan William Ellinger Memorial Scholarship Fund in Materials Science and Engineering, $25,364.

• Robert E. Lauer Scholarship Fund, $25,040.

• The Dr. Robert Rizzitano Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

• The Richard Warman Bailey Graduate Fellowship Fund in Engineering, $25,000.

• The J. William McKinley Athletic Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

• The General Internal Medicine Research Fund, $25,000.