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Annual Giving is the yearly appeal the Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV makes to all alumni for gifts which can be used immediately to meet the College’s most strategic needs. Undesignated annual gifts allow the College to seize unexpected opportunities. Annual gifts to the College may be made through two primary annual programs.

Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV Annual Fund

The Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV’s Annual Fund provides each alumnus the opportunity to support the College to the best of his or her ability. Over the years, this program has been a catalyst that has helped to provide the College with critical support and has enhanced a myriad of programs. Gifts through the annual fund have helped to support our nationally recognized student projects, scholarships, student organizations, design and construction competitions, charettes, and teaching and research laboratories enhancement.

The ability to meet the changing needs and priorities of students and faculty by channeling unrestricted funds to specific areas or programs is one of the few entrepreneurial opportunities in our academic environment. In addition, unrestricted funds provide both the dean and the directors the ability to support essential programs that cannot be adequately funded through state appropriations.

President’s Associates

The President’s Associates at the University of Oklahoma is the single most successful private support program in the history of OU. Since its beginning in 1979, the President’s Associates Program has been integral to the success of the University of Oklahoma in areas ranging from the National Scholars Program to the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms. All gifts received through the President’s Associates are used entirely for academic purposes and enable the University to address critical needs or to explore exciting new opportunities. While OU Associates may make their gift entirely unrestricted to the University of Oklahoma, we encourage our engineering alumni to designate one half of their gift to the Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV. All gifts are tax deductible, and corporate matching gifts may be included as part of an annual contribution by including the matching gift form. For more information contact President’s Associates office at (405)325-2014.

Undergraduate students are the foundation of the Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV and its divisions. The strength of our undergraduate programs has long been exemplified by the quality of our students. In order to continue our tradition of attracting the brightest students from Oklahoma, across the United States and internationally, we must provide increased scholarship support through additional named scholarship endowments. Named scholarship endowments may be established with a one-time gift or multi-year commitment.

A premier graduate program must have superior faculty and an innovative, future-oriented research program. To meet the future needs for faculty, external research, industry and government worldwide, we must be prepared to aggressively compete for the best graduate students from the top schools in our region and across the United States. The availability of financial support is often the deciding factor, and thus it is necessary to provide additional funding through endowed graduate fellowships. Named endowed graduate fellowships may be established with a one-time gift or multi-year commitment $100,000 or more.

The long-awaited Gould Hall is an integral part of the Christopher C. Â鶹´«Ã½AV’s 21^st century transformation.  The 108,000-gross-square-foot building provides state-of-the-art, quality space for all the college’s programs. The prominent South Oval building was renovated and expanded to create a more stylized contemporary version of the Cherokee Gothic architecture of the Norman campus’ historic buildings. Gould Hall brings all divisions together under one roof. While the facility provides the physical space for transformation a true transformation comes from within the programs. Gifts to name a space in Gould Hall will not be used for bricks and mortar. Instead, they will support college-wide initiatives associated with the College’s transformation:

• Increased collaboration between divisions
• International study for students and faculty
• Scholarships and endowments
• Classroom and laboratory technology upgrades
• Faculty recruitment/enrichment

Ensuring a superior faculty represents a significant and ongoing challenge for the College. Our ability to attract and retain a distinguished faculty will continue to require incentives beyond the traditional salary and rank. Endowed faculty positions are the most effective means to attract and retain both senior and promising junior faculty, as they provide funds for salary supplements, professional development and research support. In addition, a faculty of high reputation increases the College’s ability to attract private support. Thus, faculty endowments continue to be a high priority for the College.

Endowed chairs enable a college or program to recruit and retain faculty whose national reputations elevate its prominence and whose experience and expertise make an exceptional contribution to its teaching, research and public service. National searches are typically held to fill these positions. Chairs are endowed with at least $1,000,000.

Professorships are endowed with at least $500,000. Typically these professorships are created in private gifts. Professorships enable the university to retain respected and effective faculty members who are making an exceptional contribution to OU’s mission of teaching, research and public service. These positions may be filled through national or internal searches.

The George Lynn Cross Heritage Society honors and recognizes donors who, through their estate plans, include a gift that will benefit the University of Oklahoma for generations to come. These thoughtful and well-planned gifts take many forms, such as bequests, charitable remainder trusts or life insurance. All planned gifts strengthen the future of the University of Oklahoma, while creating an enduring legacy for donors.

Through a planned or deferred gift, donors can reach across the generations to touch the future of the University of Oklahoma and its students. A donor may make his or her gift unrestricted so that it can be used in an area where it is needed most, or may designate the gift to benefit a favorite college, department, academic or athletic program. Planned gifts are as unique as each individual who makes one and may be tailored in a way that best serves the donor’s needs, objectives, and wishes as well as those of the University of Oklahoma. Among planned gift options are:

BEQUESTS

Many donors choose to make a planned gift through a will or living trust, which enables you to retain your assets during your lifetime, while helping OU in the future. Bequests can be a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or the balance of your estate after providing for your family or other loved ones.

A bequest removes those assets from your estate and reduces estate tax liability. So that you may be properly acknowledged as a member of the George Lynn Cross Heritage Society, each donor is asked to provide the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc. with a copy of the relevant portion of his or her will or living trust.

CHARITABLE REMAINDER TRUSTS

The charitable remainder unitrust and the charitable remainder annuity trust are two life income planned gift options that allow you to make a gift to the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc., and receive income back annually from that gift for you or a designee for the rest of your life or for a set number of years while also receiving a current income tax deduction for the gift.

A charitable remainder trust is established when the donor irrevocably transfers cash, securities, or real estate to fund the trust. With the transfer of appreciated securities or real estate, the donor not only receives the charitable gift deduction, but also avoids capital gains tax. Upon the termination of the trust, the remaining principal in the trust is directed to the University.

LIFE INSURANCE

A gift of life insurance can be a very affordable and flexible planned giving method to make a significant gift. By purchasing a life insurance policy naming the OU Foundation, Inc. as the owner and beneficiary, you can receive a charitable gift deduction for each premium payment. A paid up life insurance policy that may no longer be needed can also be contributed, allowing a donor to receive a charitable gift deduction approximately equal to the cash surrender value of the policy.

RETAINED LIFE ESTATE

A gift of your home or farm can be made without giving up the use of your property during your lifetime. You may also provide for your spouse or other loved one to live there upon your death. You can obtain a charitable income tax deduction based on the value of the property and your age. Property taxes and insurance remain the donor’s responsibility.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

If you would like to know more about making a planned gift to the University of Oklahoma and becoming a member of the George Lynn Cross Heritage Society, please contact Eric Melton at (405)325-3701 emelton@ou.edu.

GEORGE LYNN CROSS HERITAGE SOCIETY

George Lynn Cross was the University of Oklahoma’s beloved and revered seventh president and, in many ways, the architect of OU’s transition from a college to a great, comprehensive university.

Dr. Cross joined the University of Oklahoma as an assistant professor of botany in 1934, and rose rapidly through the ranks of academic administration. In 1943, he was named acting president of OU. Eight months later, he began the longest tenure of any president in the University of Oklahoma’s history, serving until 1968.

Dr. Cross presided over a period of extraordinary growth and initiated many changes that have had a long-lasting impact upon OU. Among his many contributions was the establishment of the University of Oklahoma Foundation, Inc. to serve as the guardian of private gifts. Dr. Cross and Cleo, his wife of 71 years, invested their lives in the University of Oklahoma and its students. His example led many of those students to invest their own lives in causes greater than themselves.

George Lynn Cross died on New Year’s Eve 1998 at the age of 93. No single person has left a more notable legacy to OU, so it is especially fitting that the new George Lynn Cross Heritage Society carries his name. A legacy is what each member of the Heritage Society is creating through their gifts that will bear fruit for many years in the future.