An $80-million endowment given to the Russ College of Engineering and Technology will require another year of planning before it can be spent, an Ohio University administrator said.
The gift, given by the Russ estate to the college last quarter, makes up the majority of the college's $120 million in endowments, according to a draft of a plan that outlines how the gift can be used. Based on the spending policies of the Ohio University Foundation, $4.8 million will be available each year for the college starting no earlier than
July 1, 2009.
There's a whole investment strategy ' the same way the bank would invest a savings account
said Jennifer Bowie, director of Annual Giving and Communication.
The OU Foundation invests endowments in various securities, bonds and in some cases the Ohio University Inn, which is owned by the foundation. The interest accumulated from these investments is spent while the original donation remains untouched, something that helps secure the university's future, Bowie said, adding that OU currently has $240 million in endowments.
Over time that gift gets even bigger just like your savings account would if you keep adding to it she said.
Attorneys will distribute the estate's assets by February 2009, said Dennis Irwin, dean of the Engineering College. Spending plans approved by the executive vice president and provost and the OU president will come March 2009 at the earliest, according to the draft.
The earliest (the gift could be used) would be July 1
2009
following standard procedure
Irwin said. This is a non-standard gift.
The Russ endowment will place the college in the top tier of engineering colleges in the United States, according to the draft.
Frankly
the rankings are very subjective; they're very opinion-based
said Colleen Carow, director of External Relations for the engineering college, who added she wasn't sure about the college's current rank.
OU President Roderick McDavis should approve the draft by the end of the week, Irwin said.
OU received news of the endowment following the death of Dolores H. Russ earlier this year. McDavis announced the endowment at the State of the University address given Jan. 31. The Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology was named in their honor in 1994.-
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