An Even Greater Team
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An even greater team Annual Report 2015 It was just over a year ago that I was first on campus interviewing for the position of president of the Foundation. I was impressed by the rich tradition of SD Mines and the outstanding education that has been and continues to be provided. Having been on the job now for nine months, I continue to be amazed at the impact that SD Mines has on the lives of students. Today, it seems like many colleges and universities define themselves by how selective they are during the admissions process. The focus at SD Mines is on accepting students who are willing to work hard and measuring ourselves by what our students do after graduation. The 98 percent placement rate and the starting salary of $63,000 are significant measures of how well the school achieves this mission. Recognition by national publications for this success is a testament of the school’s accomplishments. In the past, you have received news and stories in the Foundation Update. In a cost neutral decision, we have decided to bring you a semi-annual update from the Foundation that matches the production and the quality you already enjoy in The Hardrock. Our goal is to provide our semi-annual updates in coordination with The Hardrock publications. As a result, you will receive quarterly publications from the School of Mines. One of our issues will be an annual report that will include updates on the size, growth and performance of our endowment and will feature our annual donor recognition. We will also include updates on our key fundraising metrics. Our goal is to demonstrate our accountability to you as alumni of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Due to time constraints, we were unable to deliver a print edition this year. As a result, we have provided a copy of the annual report online. Our goal is to provide our first print publication in the spring with next year’s edition being published in the fall of 2016. You will also see additional updates to our communications strategy. We will soon have an updated webpage that will be designed for today’s mobile needs. More importantly, we will focuse on how our donor’s gifts impact the school and our students. We recently launched a Foundation Facebook page and Twitter account and hope that you will follow us there. For those of you who prefer to use LinkedIn, you can follow me directly for the latest news and events from the SD School of Mines. I hope you enjoy this issue of the annual report. Go Hardrockers! Joel B. Kincart President SD Mines Foundation Follow us on 1 Create a Legacy of Giving Give a Gift That Will Table of Contents Bring a Lifetime of Benefits With a gift annuity, you make a gift of cash or property to us. rates or the stock market changes. Depending upon your In return, we will make payments for life to you, you and a gift, you may receive the added benefit of mostly tax-free loved one, or another person. Each payment will be fixed and payments. You will also receive a charitable deduction in the the amount of each payment will depend on the age of the year that you set up the gift annuity. person who receives the payments. After all payments have Contact us for more information on creating a charitable gift Mines Music Program Receives Largest Gift to Date been made, we will receive the remaining value of your gift annuity today. 4 to support the causes that matter to you. Leah Mahoney, Director of Planned Giving Your payments are fixed as of the date of your gift. This 605.394.6859 • [email protected] means that your payments will never change, even if interest 7 New Residence Hall Will Accommodate Growing Campus CHEMISTRY, SD MINES 8 Endowment Summary EXPLOSIVES, SUMMER 3D PRINTING, 10 Donor’s Generosity Helps Students Give Back FOSSILS CAMPS & MORE. GRADES 9-12 12 Donor Recognition There is something for everyone at SD Mines’ summer camps, where high school students experience high- quality programming through hands-on activities and field work. TAYLOR DAVIS • 605.394.1261 • [email protected] SDSMT.EDU/SUMMERCAMPS 3 Mines Music Program Receives Largest Gift to Date SD Mines has received several rare guitars and other valuable grew to become one of the most popular high school bands in musical instruments as part of a collection donated by alumnus the nearby Albany area. Paul J. Rafter. The collection valued at more than $250,000 includes forty-four acoustic, electric, and bass guitars; three After he graduated in 1967, Rafter continued to play with bands Hammond organs; a mint condition seven-foot Yamaha throughout the northeastern U.S. Disklavier grand piano; a Wurlitzer electric piano; amplifiers; In 1975, Rafter changed career paths and sold almost all of his microphones; drums; and recording equipment. music equipment to fund his first year of electrical engineering The gift is the largest ever received by the music program, with technology studies at a two-year college in New York. In 1977, many of the pieces to be sold to benefit the program. he enrolled at Mines to finish his bachelor’s degree. Rafter is a retired engineer living in San Jose, California, with a At Mines Rafter completed design work for General Electric in deep passion for music. New York and IBM in Arizona. At that time, the Mines music program included the Singing Engineers, Jazz Band, and Pep His collection includes limited edition guitars, basses and amps Band, none of which suited Rafter’s rock-and-roll background, manufactured by Gibson, Fender, PRS, Rickenbacker, Martin, so he joined the Photography Club for a creative outlet. Taylor, and Marshall, some dating back to 1958. It also includes guitar number Soon after earning his nineteen of bachelor’s in electrical twenty-five hand- “Mines gave me so much opportunity, engineering with numbered Gibson honors in 1980, Rafter Custom Les Pauls and I wanted to do something in return, joined Hewlett-Packard played and signed (HP) and was named by Led Zeppelin especially for the students. … I also hope the number one sales guitarist Jimmy representative for his Page, and one of they take this opportunity to rock” product line in northern fourteen custom- California. During his finished Les Pauls twenty-one-year career signed by the Edge at HP, he also served as from the band, U2. a product manager, software design engineer, and code-writer. The keyboard instruments offer students the opportunity to use After retiring, he realized he needed to find a home for his equipment only used by major recording studios and professional instruments. Recognizing the Mines music program needed a jazz and rock keyboardists. The Yamaha grand piano can record little rock-and-roll, Rafter contacted the university’s Foundation and play back student performances. One of the Hammond office and asked to donate his music collection. organs was owned by Joey DeFrancesco, a renowned jazz “As someone who has spent his career promoting the value and organist. importance of music for those who study and work in science An electrical engineer by trade, but a rock-and-roller at heart, and engineering fields, I see Paul’s gift as a testament to the Rafter wanted to show his gratitude for all Mines gave him. impact that music can have on one’s life regardless of career “Mines gave me so much opportunity, and I wanted to do path,” said Mines Director of Music James Feiszli, DMA. something in return, especially for the students. … I also hope While some of the instruments are being stored until they are they take this opportunity to rock,” he said. sold, some pieces are already being used by students. The grand Rafter’s love of music began well before he came to campus. The piano was played during the spring choral concert, and Rafter’s New York native began taking piano lessons in the fourth grade personal 1967 Fender bass and Standel amp will be kept for and received an electric bass guitar when he was a sophomore. student use. Rafter joined a band with others from his high school, which 4 5 MINES ANNUAL FUND New Residence Hall Will Accommodate Growing Campus Three organizations—Alumni Association, Foundation, and Hardrock Club—fundraising as one A gift to the Mines Annual Fund is an expression of support to your alma mater and will make an immediate impact on programs and student experiences. The annual fund creates flexibility for the university to leverage the areas we all care about, including scholarships, student organizations, faculty, and infrastructure. It also helps the university to achieve its goals of recruiting, retaining, and educating students with exceptional potential. The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology Foundation Dakota Board of Regents approved the proposal. and the University hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on September 12, for construction of a residence hall to house 200 “It’s something that’s a tremendous benefit to our students, both students. because they have housing but also because any margin for the Now is the perfect time to make a gift to the Mines Annual Fund Foundation goes back into the students,” Wilson says. “Even though the demographics in South Dakota have seen a decline in the number of 18-year-olds in South Dakota, The new six-story building will offer fifty-one suite-style units, the School of Mines has been growing,” SD Mines President each with a living room, private bathrooms and bedrooms.