LSU alumni Emmet and Toni Stephenson, formerly of Bastrop, La., have pledged a $25 million gift to LSU, university officials announced today. Their donation will be among the largest gifts ever to the University and accelerates the momentum of the “Forever LSU” campaign.
Approximately $15 million is committed to the E. J. Ourso College of Business, including $11 million to create the Stephenson Disaster Management Institute and $4 million allocated to the Entrepreneurship Institute. Another $1 million will go to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. The remaining $9 million will be added to the above gifts or used to fund other programs at LSU.
The Stephensons said, “We believe LSU can move to the top ranks of universities in the U.S., and we want to help three programs with that achievement. The largest portion of our gift is to start a new disaster response management institute to capitalize on LSU’s unique experience and outstanding performance under the severe pressure of the Katrina disaster. Our vision is to see LSU become the premier university in the world on disaster response management. The second part goes to the Entrepreneur Institute to grow and enhance entrepreneurship education to create new business and new jobs in the Gulf South. The initial gift to the veterinary school is to kick off a much larger fund-raising effort to advance their work in helping animals, and conducting medical and biomedical research, which ultimately benefits people as well as animals.”
“We are extremely grateful to the Stephensons for their incredibly generous gift to the university,” LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe said. “It is very gratifying to see two of our alumni show their support for LSU in this way. This is a major step forward for the ‘Forever LSU’ campaign, and these funds will go a long way in improving the academic and research components of the university.”
The Stephenson Disaster Management Institute will strive to save human and animal life by continuously improving disaster response management through applied research and education. The institute will work to develop new and improved processes with emphasis on preparation, readiness and response during the first 10 days following an incident. The Entrepreneurship Institute will reorganize LSU’s entrepreneurship education program and outreach activities to promote immediate and future economic growth in Louisiana and the Gulf South region.
“The gift from the Stephensons will have a transformational effect on the E. J. Ourso College by providing new resources to study areas key to the prosperity of Louisiana and the world,” said Dean Robert Sumichrast. He added, “This gift will help us study how improved management can save lives in the aftermath of a disaster, as well as expand the scope and effectiveness of our existing entrepreneurship programs and capabilities.”
“The wonderful gift from Emmet and Toni Stephenson reflects their strong passion for the health and well-being of animals and for veterinary medicine,” said Dr. Peter F. Haynes, interim dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. “It is increasingly more evident that future initiatives in the School of Veterinary Medicine will rely heavily on the generosity of private donors, like Emmet and Toni Stephenson, who believe that our mission and programs are integral to the broad society that we serve.”
Emmet Stephenson is the founder and president of Stephenson and Company, a private investment company, and senior partner of Stephenson Ventures, a private equity firm. He also serves as a director of Danaher Corp. and is the retired chairman of StarTek, Inc. Stephenson graduated magna cum laude from LSU with a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Business in 1967 and was ranked first in his graduating class. In his senior year, he served as president of the LSU College of Business. He also graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School and received the Ralph Thomas Sayles Fellowship in Investments. At LSU, he was inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction in 2006; was inducted into the LSU Kappa Sigma Hall of Distinction in 2005; was a speaker in the Flores MBA Distinguished Speaker Series in 1999; and was inducted into the Ourso College of Business Hall of Distinction in 1998. Stephenson previously served as president of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association. He received the Albert Einstein Technology Medal in 1999.
Toni Stephenson is the founder and president of General Communications, Inc. She was publisher of Law Enforcement Product News and Public Safety Product News and was a founder and director of Charter Bank and Trust. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from LSU in 1967, where she served on the Student Council, and completed the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program in 1990. She served as president of the Children’s Hospital Association of Volunteers, a director of the Children’s Hospital, a director of Anchor Center for Blind Children and a director of St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Both Emmet and Toni Stephenson currently serve on the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and are recognized in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World. The couple has been married for nearly 40 years and has one daughter.
The “Forever LSU” campaign is designed to raise private funds for LSU to improve the university’s academic and research capabilities and to help it compete with other flagship universities in the nation. The campaign combines the efforts of the university’s three fundraising bodies – the LSU Alumni Association, the LSU Foundation and the Tiger Athletic Foundation. Prior to the Stephenson gift, LSU had raised $283 million toward its $750 million goal.
