The Emporia State Foundation says it is making a significant contribution into the university’s ongoing reinvestment.
On Wednesday, the Foundation announced an investment of an additional $3 million in unrestricted funds over a three-year period for the university to use as needed, including — but not limited to — planned construction of a new nursing and student wellness building, student success projects, scholarships, summer BRIDGE programs, recruitment efforts and retention plans.
The Foundation says the money will “provide the university the flexibility to align these resources with its go-forward initiatives.” When asked what led the Foundation to make such a significant investment, Director Shane Shively says it all comes down to “timing.”
Shively says the funds being allocated come from the Foundation’s “rainy day fund” and have been built up over the years thanks to a few factors.
Shively adds the dollars allocated will have no impact on the foundation’s regular operating budget.
When asked if donations have fallen off since the announcement of the framework last September, Shively says there was a bit of a pause, however, that didn’t last for long.
Wednesday’s announcement by the ESU Foundation followed a sharply critical report from AAUP on Monday, both towards ESU and the Kansas Board of Regents, for the processes that led to ESU’s Framework for Workforce Management and the dismissals of over 30 faculty and staff in September. ESU says that process also led to numerous reinvestment announcements since then, including the ESU Foundation news Wednesday.
