82SiouxGuy Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I was expecting a more substantial announcement than this. $14 million is nice and much appreciated, but how far will it really stretch in terms of new facilities, research, scholarships, and new faculty lines? Not trying to be ungrateful, just realistic. What exactly qualifies as a major announcement to you? Most schools on the planet would consider a $10 million donation a major announcement.
LB#11 Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Isn't this the same guy who was funding Hennen and Schafer trying to cut the oil tax and dry up the ND coffers for his own gain? I really don't understand this way of thinking. The guy donates millions of $$$ to the college you seem to support. The USA is a land of opportunity(at least it was at one time), Harold Hamm was a guy who started with nothing and acheived the American dream. watchmaker49...I don't think there's any question your bringing a political issue into a great donation to the University of North Dakota. 2
Oxbow6 Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I really don't understand this way of thinking. The guy donates millions of $$$ to the college you seem to support. The USA is a land of opportunity(at least it was at one time), Harold Hamm was a guy who started with nothing and acheived the American dream. watchmaker49...I don't think there's any question your bringing a political issue into a great donation to the University of North Dakota. Agree. It's a very generous and substantial gift to the university. And on a political side note, we all can agree Mr. Hamm is not part of the 47%!!! Kudos to Mr. Hamm for his generosity.
IrishSiouxFan Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 What exactly qualifies as a major announcement to you? Most schools on the planet would consider a $10 million donation a major announcement. Hey take it easy man, I never said it wasn't a major announcement. Just that I thought it would have been a larger donation, given the industry and the intention that it would be used to create 50 new engineers per year. $14 million is a lot of money, but when you factor in the cost of building/expanding facilities, hiring additional faculty, and adding scholarships, $14 million gets swallowed real quick. UND is lucky to have this donation, I just thought it would have been in the $20- $30 million range, that's all. No need to get into a twist over it.
JLP157 Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I really don't understand this way of thinking. The guy donates millions of $$$ to the college you seem to support. The USA is a land of opportunity(at least it was at one time), Harold Hamm was a guy who started with nothing and acheived the American dream. watchmaker49...I don't think there's any question your bringing a political issue into a great donation to the University of North Dakota. If an Over/Under betting line had been established on how many posts this thread would have before Watchmaker 49 said something negative, the line would have opened at about 3. And I would have lost $$$ by betting the under, as I fully expected that the second post would be one of his verbal banquets ... I wonder what took him so long this time?
SiouxVolley Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Now we know why the name, "School of Engineering and Mines", was changed to "College of Engineering and Mines", and why its "Department of Geology and Geological Engineering" was changed to "School of Geology and Geological Engineering". It will now be Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering. The leaves open the possibility of other departments in the Engineering College, to become "Schools", with the proper donations.
SiouxVolley Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/09/24/harold-hamm-makes-big-gift-to-university-of-north-dakota/ Together with his five children, Mr. Hamm owns a nearly $11 billion stake in Continental. Mr. Hamm, who recently testified in Congress about energy independence, already has pledged to donate at least half of his wealth to charity, is part of the “Giving Pledge,” initiated by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. Mr. Hamm has given tens of millions of dollars for health, education and other causes. Mr. Hamm is the latest emerging mogul of the energy age to throw his money around outside the energy patch, a trend that should grow as wealth from the U.S. energy boom accumulates. Aubrey McClendon, co-founder of Chesapeake Energy, owns part of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Terry Pegula, who sold East Resources for $4.7 billion in 2010, owns the Buffalo Sabres hockey team, and Bob Simpson, another shale billionaire, is an owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team.
82SiouxGuy Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Hey take it easy man, I never said it wasn't a major announcement. Just that I thought it would have been a larger donation, given the industry and the intention that it would be used to create 50 new engineers per year. $14 million is a lot of money, but when you factor in the cost of building/expanding facilities, hiring additional faculty, and adding scholarships, $14 million gets swallowed real quick. UND is lucky to have this donation, I just thought it would have been in the $20- $30 million range, that's all. No need to get into a twist over it. Think of it as seed money. They aren't building a new building right away. This is how fundraising usually works. They work behind the scenes to start. They get a major donation and make an announcement. Then they start filling in some smaller donations that are attracted by the major donation. It rarely comes all at one time. Getting $14 million to start should be enough to guarantee the project. A lot of major projects are announced when they have somewhere between 50-80% of the funding or donations in place. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more oil industry donations in the works, but they may not be finalized yet. You make the announcements individually to give donors their time in the sun, you don't wait until you have all the money before you announce the project.
GeauxSioux Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I am currently reading "University of the Northern Plains", which is a history of the first 75 years of UND. In his farewell address in 1953 President West said... The discovery of petroleum has turned over a new leaf in the state of North Dakota and the University. The profound changes that will come can now only be imagined. It is obvious, however, that sharing an agricultural economy with a petroleum economy in all of its ramifications poses problems heretofore beyond the realm of our thinking. The University must, can and will perform its function in this new field and with its traditional courage and persistency... Thanks Mr. Hamm for helping the University to realize its goals.
fightingsioux4life Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I respectfully disagree. I hardly think the Spirit Campaign announcement was a debacle. If that's your example of a debacle; I'd like to know what you call what is going on PR-wise at NDSU right now, or at Penn St., etc. Rather I think your overly hyped and skewed sense of what is a big deal now following Ralph's extraordinarily generous gift is what is and was in play. What do you want UND officials to say every time something like this comes up ... "it's a big deal, but not Ralph Engelstad big"? Sheesh! Just be happy it's not the state revoking $14 million from UND We are spoiled, aren't we? The fact is, the Spirit Campaign announcement was over-hyped. Like I have said, I have donated to the Spirit Campaign twice, so I support the concept and want it to succeed. But our world has become way too media driven and hyperactive. Just let the actual events speak for themselves and then we can talk about them. When Ralph announced his gift, it was in the loft of the old REA. No bells. No whistles. No streamers from the ceiling. The absence of those things did not diminish the significance of the gift; I would argue that the absence of those things put more of the focus on the gift. That is how it should be. Maybe I am being old fashioned about this, but that is how I feel. Nothing more, nothing less.
watchmaker49 Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Agree. It's a very generous and substantial gift to the university. And on a political side note, we all can agree Mr. Hamm is not part of the 47%!!! Kudos to Mr. Hamm for his generosity. I would not be so quick to say that.
82SiouxGuy Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 The fact is, the Spirit Campaign announcement was over-hyped. Like I have said, I have donated to the Spirit Campaign twice, so I support the concept and want it to succeed. But our world has become way too media driven and hyperactive. Just let the actual events speak for themselves and then we can talk about them. When Ralph announced his gift, it was in the loft of the old REA. No bells. No whistles. No streamers from the ceiling. The absence of those things did not diminish the significance of the gift; I would argue that the absence of those things put more of the focus on the gift. That is how it should be. Maybe I am being old fashioned about this, but that is how I feel. Nothing more, nothing less. I think that most fundraisers would disagree with you. You start a major campaign by quietly working with potential large donors to find a good match. When enough large donations have been received, you go public with a lot of celebration and hype in order to help attract the remainder of the donations to finish the project. Ralph's gift was unique in many ways. As it relates to this discussion, there was no need for further fundraising. Ralph was funding the entire project. The other thing about Ralph's announcement is that it was done in his style. Fundraisers will often try to match the donor's style to make them feel as comfortable as possible. Ralph himself wasn't glittery or fancy, in spite of his years in Las Vegas. He liked the low key and making the announcement at the Old Ralph was exactly the way he wanted it. Most fundraising announcements for projects like the Spirit campaign would have been handled in a similar manner to what UND did.
SiouxVolley Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 I would not be so quick to say that. But you are so quick to say so much that is untrue.
SiouxVolley Posted September 24, 2012 Posted September 24, 2012 Didn't NDSU start petroleum engineering as a major in 1980's, and then stop the program in the late 1990's? They really missed the boat on that one. They could have been making a play for these gifts. Now they'll probably want to duplicate programs again.
GeauxSioux Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 Didn't know that. The Petroleum Engineering program at NDSU officially began in the fall of 1986. Student enrolled in the program took core courses in petroleum engineering along with courses in chemistry, engineering, geology, mathematics, and physics. Due to State budget cuts, Petroleum Engineering program was discontinued in 1995.
Rick Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 Hey take it easy man, I never said it wasn't a major announcement. Just that I thought it would have been a larger donation, given the industry and the intention that it would be used to create 50 new engineers per year. $14 million is a lot of money, but when you factor in the cost of building/expanding facilities, hiring additional faculty, and adding scholarships, $14 million gets swallowed real quick. UND is lucky to have this donation, I just thought it would have been in the $20- $30 million range, that's all. No need to get into a twist over it. Maybe you could make up the difference. Most universities in the country can't even get this type of donation from their most successful alumni and Mr. Hamm is a gentleman who has no ties to the UND but still gave the university a boatload of money. The University of Oregon has Phil Knight and UND has Ralph Engelstad. There aren't anymore of those types around. But UND has been very fortunate to have guys like James Ray and Harold Hamm who because of the Aerospace and Oil Industries have decided to invest in these programs. This will give the University of North Dakota a chance to bring the Geology School to the level of the Aerospace School. Thanks to the generosity of people like Engelstad, Hamm & Ray, UND is blessed with world class facilities & programs that others can only dream about.
GeauxSioux Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 I read where this is a record donation for UND from a non-alum.
Ranger Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 I would not be so quick to say that. bitter much?
82SiouxGuy Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 I read where this is a record donation for UND from a non-alum. That's what the Governor said at the announcement.
GeauxSioux Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 OUR OPINION: Gifts bring gusher of opportunities to UND As the years roll on, graduates of the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering are sure to pay the state’s investment back many times over. For one thing, they’ll likely be some of North Dakota’s top engineers and executives and will generate “returns” through not only their tax dollars but also their citizenship and charitable work. For another, they’ll be loyal alumni as well. That means UND can look forward to generations of graduates’ steady and significant support. In short, the $14 million project will leverage the brainpower at UND to drive exciting opportunities for UND, North Dakota and even the United States. Congratulations and sincere thanks all around.
bincitysioux Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 I was expecting a more substantial announcement than this. $14 million is nice and much appreciated, but how far will it really stretch................................. FACEPALM........................ I wish I were in a financial position to question how far $14 Million dollars goes..................... Just because they weren't announcing your 30,000 seat retractable roof stadium today doesn't mean this is disappointing in any way. Thank you Mr. Hamm, for investing in North Dakota.............................. 1
watchmaker49 Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 But you are so quick to say so much that is untrue. Like what?
watchmaker49 Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 bitter much? Not bitter at all. I just see no reason to sing Praise Allah to a guy who tried screwing over the ND taxpayers. When you can't get in the front door try the back.
andtheHomeoftheSIOUX!! Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 Not bitter at all. I just see no reason to sing Praise Allah to a guy who tried screwing over the ND taxpayers. When you can't get in the front door try the back. This is not about politics. Go away.
The Sicatoka Posted September 25, 2012 Posted September 25, 2012 The proper response to any gift is: Thank you.
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