An MSU Board of Trustees meeting that began with quiet, routine discussion ended in gasps and a standing ovation from administrators and fellow trustees.
Trustee Dee Cook and her husband, oil and gas producer and real estate developer Byron Cook, pledged $1 million to the MSU School of Music.
“When part of the university is enhanced, the whole university is enhanced,” Dee Cook said. “We feel this probably is something that will energize people to support the arts.”
Dee and Byron Cook are MSU graduates, which was a key reason for the pledge. Dee Cook also was a professional singer and Byron Cook was in the marching band.
Trustees also approved a one-year extension Friday to men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo’s contract, revised a university construction rule and Provost Lou Anna Simon released preliminary enrollment numbers for the 2002-03 school year.
But the Cook’s donation was the highlight of the meeting, which came after trustees named an Oregon architect for the future construction of a new School of Music building.
President M. Peter McPherson said the Cooks’ gift is a great way to start toward MSU’s goal for its capital campaign fund raiser, which starts Sept. 20.
“The music building is important long term for the campus and this $1 million contribution is a very critical step to getting that building,” McPherson said. “This is so much more realistic.”
James Forger, director of the School of Music, said a group of music school faculty, MSU central developers and College of Arts and Letters faculty sent a proposal to the Cooks two weeks ago asking for a donation.
Forger said he knew they were considering pledging money, but said the school will probably still have a long way to go before all the funds for a new building are collected.
“When someone commits a million to a school, you’re always surprised,” Forger said. “The School of Music faculty and students are elated with the new architect and Byron and Dee Cook’s generous gift.”
But Dee Cook said some people were worried about the gift.
“When we shared this with our children, they wanted to make sure they weren’t out of the will,” Dee jokingly said. “But they also said, ‘How great, you’re giving it to the music school.’”
MSU officials didn’t just begin to secure the future of a new music building, but also solidified the future of Izzo.
MSU Trustees unanimously voted to give a one-year contract extension to the coach who led the men’s basketball team to the 2000 NCAA National Championship.
“I don’t think we really need to speak to his accolades, but that the administration is pleased with his ability to shape young men,” said Fred Poston, vice president for finance and operations .
During the meeting, Simon told the board that MSU’s student population is expected to rise by about 700 students to 44,227 total pupils for the 2002-03 school year.
Trustees also passed, by a margin of 6-2, a construction threshold of $250,000. The threshold allows administrators to approve any repair or small construction project on campus without trustees’ consent.
The level had been at $100,000 for 20 years, but because of inflation and MSU’s threshold being the lowest in the Big Ten, the limit was raised.
“The $100,000 served us well, but an adjustment was needed,” Trustee David Porteous said. “The $250,000 still provides meaningful insight and flexibility on some of the smaller projects.”
But MSU Trustee Dorothy Gonzales did not agree with the new limit.
“I just don’t feel comfortable at that high a number of just saying you can go and spend $250,000,” Gonzales said. “As overseers, we should have some say in it.”
