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Alum Success

“I chose LSSU expecting a very good engineering education. What I didn’t expect was faculty with real-world engineering experience and abilities, labs with real-world equipment, projects with real-world outcomes, and an entire campus staff with real interest in my success, as a student and yet today. My LSSU engineering education has created or supported every desired career opportunity. LSSU was absolutely the right place for me.”

Dan Goodrich,
Mechanical Engineering 1999,
Vehicle Test & Development,
Electronic Brake Systems Group

LSSU Foundation

LSSU Gift Acceptance Policy

Proceedure for Receipt of Gifts of Real Property Upon notification of a gift of real property, the Foundation will process and steward the potential gift to the point where the Foundation Board votes to recommend acceptance of the gift of real property to the LSSU Board of Trustees.

Upon acceptance of a gift of real property by the LSSU Board of Trustees, the LSSU Foundation will receipt and immediately transfer the gift of real property to LSSU.

Bylaws 2.3.2a

GUIDELINES FOR ACCEPTING GIFTS OF LAND

When a parcel of land is offered to the University, a donor will be asked to complete the Trade Property Inquiry Form. (Sample in Appendix A) Upon receipt of the form, the Executive Director of Development will notify the Director of Purchasing and Risk Management about the gift. Then the Executive Director will assemble a site inspection team. The site inspection team consists of appropriate University personnel or their professional representatives. The team goes to the site and inspects and reviews it for all potential known uses and constraints: Timber, Educational, Recreational, Mineral, Scenic, Wildlife, Habitat, Development, Agricultural, Public Open Space, Archeological, Historical, Wet Lands, Research, Aquaculture, Attitudes (use) of Community and Abutters.

Once the site visit has been completed the evaluation team submits a report to the president. This process takes about two weeks, depending upon the location of the property.

The site inspectors will evaluate the property for the following considerations:

Lands within a 30-minute driving distance will be reviewed for:
- "White goods," evidence of environmental hazards and toxic materials;
- Structures requiring extensive maintenance associated with the gift;
- For its ability to be managed in the short and the long term;
- Allowable management costs;
- Access for "outdoor laboratory work";
- Ability to provide real cash for University use through forest management;
- Tangible benefits for research, education and public service, e.g., animal habitat, rare or unusual flora and fauna;
- Varied forest and land types – a "microcosm" of forest and land types of the region – to meet varied educational and research needs;
- Allowable transfer of data and information to the public and students through field trips and laboratories;
- The ability to conduct and maintain "long-term" research; and
- Sufficient size to be practical.
Lands greater than 30-minutes drive will be evaluated for the above plus:
- Ability to provide stumpage sales that provide a reasonable opportunity for return after cost of consultant's management fee
Lands with serious reservations, restrictions or unusual circumstances will be evaluated for their ability to:
- Be managed for the value that the land can produce which includes unique opportunities for teaching, scientific research and public services.

All donors will be asked to provide the following before a gift of property is accepted:

The conveyance preferable should be in fee simple absolute; however, in certain instances restrictions and conditions or other encumbrances may be considered but should be kept as flexible as possible. Special attention and consideration should be given to the impact on property value of any restrictions or conditions.
The federal, state, and local taxes must be paid and current.
An existing survey by a registered land surveyor with boundary lines established on the ground. If one does not exist, the donor will be asked to provide one before the property can be accepted.
There should be a qualified professional appraisal available to the University.
Permanent legal vehicle access to the property should be provided. Other access may be acceptable in unusual situations.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Foundation will not accept a gift of forested or undeveloped land that imposes restrictions that the property be:

Maintained in an "as is" condition;
Retained for preservation purposes only;
Co-owned with another non-profit institution.

The Foundation will not accept property if its distribution to the University will have a negative affect upon the tax base where the property is located.

In establishing these guidelines, the Foundation recognizes that there will be unusual circumstances or situations that may require the consideration of property that does not fit within the framework contained in this report. In such cases, the property in question will be evaluated on its own merits.

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Student Research...

Moline, Illinois

Aaron analyzed Atlantic salmon diet in the St. Mary's River. Some food-stock species in the St. Mary's River are known to affect fish reproduction. Of the wide range of species found in salmon stomachs he sampled, the most prevalent prey item, rainbow smelt, is associated with a vitamin B deficiency. This deficiency leads to early mortality in young Atlantic salmon.

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