Funding Opportunities

Naming Opportunities Tahlequah and Muskogee
Naming Opportunities Broken Arrow
Centennial Plaza
Convocation Center
Memorial Benches

Naming Opportunities Tahlequah and Muskogee

This is hallowed ground for education in Oklahoma.
It's been a long and storied journey for Oklahoma's oldest institution of higher education. From its early foundations as a Normal School on the site of the Cherokee National Female Seminary to its current position as a leading regional university, Northeastern State University continues to chart a course for learning in Oklahoma.

With the state's purchase of the Cherokee Female National Seminary and 40 acres of land, Northeastern became a reality, offering four years of college-level study to the people of Tahlequah, northeastern Oklahoma and beyond. The newly created institution opened its doors with 215 students, 21 faculty and staff, and a $70,000 two-year operating budget. Some 100 years later, the university serves nearly 9,000 students on three campuses (Tahlequah, Muskogee, Broken Arrow), resulting in a statewide economic impact that exceeds $500 million.

Join us for our second century.
Few institutions thrive on history alone; it takes renewed commitment and support to continue the mission at hand. As Northeastern enters its second century, we look to additional funding sources to ensure the next 100 years are as fruitful as the last. Opportunities are available to memorialize your support through a one-time gift that grants you naming rights for the NSU building, area or classroom of your choice.

Endowed/Naming Funds

These are recommended contribution amounts. We welcome the opportunity to visit with you about any naming rights, contributions and/or gifts to NSU.

State of Oklahoma Matching Funds
The State of Oklahoma provides matching funds for your endowment donation in any of these qualified categories:

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Naming Opportunities Broken Arrow

Higher education is serious business in Broken Arrow.
One of the fastest growing cities in Oklahoma, Broken Arrow is home to Northeastern State University-Broken Arrow. On December 8, 1998, voters invested $16 million for Phase I construction, launching the campus into existence with whole-hearted support.

Thanks to their generosity, NSU-BA opened its doors in 2001, offering residents of the Greater Tulsa Metropolitan Area access to many of its nearly 100 degree programs. Residents extended their commitment just two years later with their approval of $26 million for Phase II construction. Money from the Vision 2025 package brings the total taxpayer-approved investment in NSU-BA to $42 million in the past eight years.

The future has never been brighter for NSU-BA.
Science, library and classroom facilities, which were completed in 2007, have expanded total potential capacity from 3,500 to 8,000 and provide the means for increased economic growth for the Greater Tulsa Metropolitan Area through a well-educated workforce.

Naming opportunities cement your commitment.
This tremendous educational facility seeks additional resources to continue and enhance its leadership presence. Opportunities are available to memorialize your vote
of confidence and support through a one-time gift that grants you naming rights to an NSU-BA building, area or classroom of your choice.

These are recommended contribution amounts. We welcome the opportunity to visit with you about any naming rights, contributions and/or gifts to NSU-BA.

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Centennial Plaza

Honor the past
Nearly a century ago, the state of Oklahoma purchased the Cherokee National Female Seminary from our Cherokee founders to create today’s Northeastern State University. As the University looks to chart its second century, we look first to honor our past.

The Centennial Plaza is the first of many aesthetic campus improvements as Northeastern looks to beautify and recognize our University’s proud heritage. From the centennial viewing area to the grand entry, this $1.2 million effort pays tribute to the foresight of those who laid the groundwork for higher education in Oklahoma.

Share the vision
You can share this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to honor the past. Northeastern State University is currently seeking additional resources to fund this three-phase endeavor that includes:

Viewing Area (Phase I): Northeastern has worked hand-in-hand with the Cherokee Nation to design a unique reflective space that honors our shared history. The centennial viewing area showcases the focal points of the Centennial Plaza project—Seminary Hall and a bronze statue of Sequoyah*, creator of the Cherokee syllabary.

Cherokee artisan Daniel HorseChief crafted the statue, which stands upon a Cherokee Star in the center of the viewing area. Encircling the piece is a seven-column, open-framed structure featuring the Cherokee syllabary, and artistic depictions of the seven Cherokee Clans—A-ni-gi-lo-hi (Long Hair), A-ni-sa-ho-ni (Blue), A-ni-wa-ya (Wolf), A-ni-go-te-ge-wi (Wild Potato), A-ni-a-wi (Deer), A-ni-tsi- s-qua (Bird), and A-ni-wo-di (Paint).

The centennial viewing area is slated for completion in early March 2009.
*The cost of the Sequoyah Statue is not part of this campaign.

Parking and Sidewalks (Phase II): The second phase of the Centennial Plaza project addresses accessibility to the centennial viewing area. Architectural plans detail a formalized parking area, as well as walking pathways to and from various campus locations.

Bids are currently being accepted for Phase II of this project.

Grand Entry (Phase III): This formalized, grand entrance to the Northeastern campus identifies our time-honored institution with a renewed source of pride. Touted in both English and Cherokee languages, the entranceway signage includes a flagpole area and a water feature complete with native stone.

Bid requests for Phase III are contingent upon successful fundraising efforts.

Convocation Center

Partner for the second century
At Northeastern State University, we are entering our second century with a renewed interest in building healthy futures for our students, the next generation leaders. In a society where the broad definition of sustainability extends to include a healthy mind and body, we are challenged to provide the types of facilities that allows students to pursue their personal health initiatives as they fulfill their educational goals on the NSU campus.

As society looks for ways to address the challenges of rising health care costs due to increasing rates of obesity and related health issues, higher education institutions must provide for the education and development of the whole person. We know that by developing a strong mind and healthy body, our students will be better prepared for a productive life of civic engagement and service to their community.

To address community health issues among our student population, NSU has identified a multi-purpose Convocation and Wellness Center as a significant need on the Tahlequah campus. We propose this addition with the goal of better serving our current students and continuing to attract outstanding students. As a convocation center, this new facility will enhance our ability to offer outstanding and inspirational social and cultural opportunities, and provide a resource for tourism and economic development. This will allow NSU to provide outstanding educational and cultural opportunities to all students and the community, while developing a campus environment that embraces and promotes the significant impact Northeastern has on the region and the economy.

The proposed convocation and wellness center reinforces the vision of our Cherokee founders, who established the Cherokee National Male and Female Seminaries in 1846 to educate young people who would become contributing members of society. Today, Northeastern continues to educate the largest number of American Indian students among four-year institutions in the United States.

Site plan
The addition of the Northeastern Convocation and Wellness Center builds a basis to raise additional support, broaden our scope and develop relationships that expand the reach of our programs and offerings. The design of the facility mirrors the architectural marvel that was the Cherokee National Male Seminary, which was originally built in Park Hill in 1846 and was destroyed by fire in 1910. While the Cherokee National Female Seminary, similarly destroyed, was rebuilt and is today's Seminary Hall, the Male Seminary remains a memory. Through its re-creation, we can provide outstanding educational and cultural opportunities to all students and the community while developing a campus environment that embraces our cultural heritage.

Benefits
The Northeastern Convocation and Wellness Center will:

• Expand cultural tourism opportunities in Northeastern Oklahoma
• Promote a healthier community
• Increase University recruitment and retention efforts
• Ensure a solid basis for future growth in Tahlequah and the surrounding areas
  
  

Memorial Benches

Creating a more user-friendly, comfortable environment is the inspiration behind the Northeastern State University Foundation's Memorial Bench Program.

The goal is to place handsome, practical park benches that complement the campus' landscaping and traffic patterns, and offer visitors, as well as students, faculty, and staff, the opportunity to relax and enjoy the beauty that surrounds them.

These six-foot benches sport classic proportions and are made of steel with a special coating that will allow the bench to stand the test of time. They are exceptionally durable and weather resistant.

Through the generosity of friends and alumni of NSU, the first benches made possible through the Memorial Bench Program were placed on campus during the Spring of 2002.

Each bench includes a bronze NSU Seal in the center of the back, and a copper nameplate honoring the donor or the individual in whose memory the bench is endowed is secured above the seal.

To endow a bench requires a tax deductible contribution of only $1,500. For more information, please contact the NSU Foundation at 800-722-9614, ext. 4200.

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