Development Office Donor News
The Campaign for Angelo State Exceeds $25 Million Goal
Read this Standard-Times story about the success of the Campaign for ASU.
Dr. Justin Louder: Ahead of His Time
One of the priorities for the Campaign for Angelo State University, the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the history of the institution, is to increase the number of documented planned gifts. Research outlines that the average age of bequest donors is 58, so ASU was pleasantly surprised to learn this summer that alumnus Dr. Justin Louder (2003, B.A., communication and psychology; 2005, M.A., communication) named Angelo State as a beneficiary in his will about 25 years before most donors create an estate gift.
ASU has always had a special place in Louder’s heart. He sees the university as one big family.
“People who have some kind of connection to ASU will always have a connection to ASU,” Louder said. “My educational experience at ASU was first rate, from my freshman English class with Dr. (Jeffrey) Schonberg to my master’s communication literature class with former professor John Nicholson. My time in class really prepared me for life after college, and I think that is what made me loyal to ASU. The education I received was superb, the faculty was available to students, and you never felt like you were just a number in a class.”
Louder also has fond recollections of his experiences outside the classroom. One instance in particular highlights the important role of the city of San Angelo in the educational growth of ASU students.
“I think one of my favorite memories was working at Ram TV/Ram Radio while I was working on my masters,” Louder said. “One of the shows we did covered the fire training academy out at Goodfellow AFB. One of the other graduate assistants, Paul Glover, and I got to go out there really early one morning and participate in the training activities. It was pretty intense standing there as the instructors lit a plane on fire and the trainees had to work together to put it out.”
Now a staff member at Texas Tech University, Louder previously worked in the ASU College of Nursing and Allied Health. His ASU education prepared him for his current role as an administrator for the Ethics Center/Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) at Texas Tech. Louder said every institution that is accredited by the regional higher education accreditation body is required to implement a five-year plan to enhance the quality of education at the institution, and must choose a theme for the plan.
“Tech chose a ‘Campus Conversation on Ethics,’ and in 2010 I moved from ASU to Tech to help finish out the QEP, continue the ‘Campus Conversation on Ethics’ and finish my doctorate in education,” Louder said. He completed his doctorate in 2011.
Louder’s success contributed to his decision to establish a planned gift for ASU.
“I think it is important to give back to your alma mater,” he said. “ASU gave me a great foundation, and I think that I should give back to help the next class of ASU students. Even though I can’t give a lot, I give what I can in hopes that someday I can increase my giving, and also to help just a little now.”
While Louder is proud of the past, he believes ASU’s days ahead are even brighter.
“ASU has great facilities and a great infrastructure that will allow it to grow to 10,000 students,” he said. “I don’t think ASU will lose the feeling that every student matters, and that is what will make ASU’s future great.”
Annual Fund Campaign: Did you answer the call?
ASU continued its “National Call Campaign” this fall as a group of energetic college students connected with ASU alumni and friends via phone calls six days a week for three weeks. Answering the call were 1,750 past and future donors who generously responded with 318 gifts and pledges to financially support the academic goals of Angelo State students.
The National Call Campaign is an integral part of the annual fundraising program. Partnering with RuffaloCODY, a company that specializes in running highly successful phonathon programs for hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States, a full-time supervisor with the Texas Tech University System, and student program coordinators, the call center rang up more than $40,000 in gifts, including matching corporate gifts and pledges for Angelo State University. “The generous gifts received from alumni and friends through our annual fund campaign change students’ lives,” said Annual Fund Coordinator Debbie Velasquez.
Reaching out to those who had never given to ASU is an important goal of the phonathon. “Reconnecting alumni to their alma mater is significant and important,” Velasquez stated, “and it’s great to see that 58 alumni gave for the very first time.”
