USU receives second-largest personal gift in its history

May 4, 2005 | Utah State University President Stan L. Albrecht announced that the university has received the second largest philanthropic gift from an individual in the university's history, a $4.5 million gift from the estate of Ray L. and Eloise Hoopes Lillywhite.

The gift includes $2 million to establish the Ray L. and Eloise Hoopes Lillywhite Endowed Chair in Speech-Language Pathology in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education in the university's College of Education and Human Services.

An additional $2 million will be used to create the Ray L. and Eloise Hoopes Lillywhite University Scholars Endowment, which will be used by the university president to entice top freshman students to Utah State.

The remainder of the gift will enhance the existing Joanne Lillywhite Christensen Scholarship Endowment in Speech-Language Pathology in the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Department. The endowment will help attract top students to the program.

The Lillywhite Endowed Chair will become a foundation faculty position that will bring even more recognition to a program that already attracts national and international attention for its high quality programs, according to Carol Strong , dean of the College of Education and Human Services.

"This gift will shine a national spotlight on a program that already merits significant honors and praise," Strong said. "The chair will allow us to attract a distinguished scholar who can make major contributions to the understanding of human communication and disorders of communication."

Strong said the endowed chair position will boost programs in the department and the college at many levels, including teaching, research, faculty mentorship and attracting outside funding. In particular, the position will bring a scholar who will address research issues focused on understanding the processes of hearing, speech and language for people who have communication impairments or disorders.

"The holder of the Lillywhite Chair, in other words, will make a difference in people's lives," she said. "The Lillywhites have been generous supporters of our program for many, many years, and for that we thank them. But we understand clearly that their gift is not for us only; it is a gift that shows genuine concern for helping people with speech and language impairments."

President Albrecht said this generous gift from the Lillywhite family will help the College of Education and Human Services enhance its already stellar reputation among colleges of education in the nation. The college once again this year ranked in the top tier of colleges of education in a U.S. News and World Report rankings.

"This gift underscores the reputation of the department and of the college, and it will bring added national honor to a deserving faculty and student corps," he said.

The $2 million gift to create the Lillywhite University Scholars Endowment will help Utah State attract the best students, not just in education but in all areas of the university.

"This gift will elevate the quality and prominence of the entire institution," Albrecht said. "It will allow us to compete with other top-tier institutions for the best student minds in the nation."

The $4.5 million gift brings the total Lillywhite family gift to Utah State to nearly $6 million.

Lorenzo N. Hoopes, executor of the Ray and Eloise Lillywhite estate, said the Lillywhites both valued a university education dearly because they worked so hard to obtain their own. Ray and his siblings hitchhiked from Brigham City to Logan to attend Utah State and to earn money for their studies.

"This bequest by Ray and Eloise Lillywhite reflects their loyalty to and appreciation for the education they received from Utah State University and their passion for the work that has been and is being done by the department of communicative disorders and deaf education," Hoopes said.

The Lillywhites grew up in Brigham City. Ray served as student body president at Utah State, graduating in political science in 1933. He became a legend in his field as director of the Utah State Teachers Retirement System, also serving as executive officer of the Wisconsin State Teachers Retirement System and the Ohio State Retirement System. He eventually joined Alliance Capital Management Corporation in San Francisco.

In honor of their late son and daughter, Danny and Joanne, the Lillywhites generously supported many scholarship programs at Utah State and in the department of communicative disorders and deaf education. Joanne, who died at age 40, worked as a speech pathologist in many schools in the nation. Several grandchildren also have careers in the field of audiology, and many family members attended or have graduated from Utah State.

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