Oklahoma State University launches $2 billion fundraising campaign

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State University has announced what it says is the largest fundraising campaign in the school’s history, one the school hopes will net $2 billion or more.

OSU President Jim Hess announced the campaign, known as “The Code Calls,” on Thursday, Nov. 13, during an event held on the lawn of The McKnight Center for The Performing Arts. The campaign’s name is a direct nod to the “Cowboy Code” – a set of principles university officials say embody OSU’s spirit, identity and character. The final principle in the code is, “We Finish What We Start.”

The university announced a list of “Executive Campaign Board Members” that includes OSU’s 1988 Heisman Trophy winner, Barry Sanders – who’s listed as the “Campaign Champion” – as well as current OSU/A&M regent Joe Hall of Elk City and more than a dozen other high-level donors to the university.

“With a goal of $2 billion, we call on all Cowboys to invest in our future,” Sanders said. “Now is the time to harness what we do best. The world needs more Cowboys.”

The rally Thursday included the Cowboy Marching Band, the OSU Spirit Squad and remarks from Hess, other university leaders and students. Hess said the rally intentionally was designed to announce the campaign among students, whom Hess said are the reason for the fundraising campaign.

The rally also included a surprise scholarship presentation to two OSU students whose stories embody the impact of the campaign.

“We launched this campaign with our students because they represent everything we stand for – grit, generosity, and the drive to do more,” Hess said. “At Oklahoma State, we don’t just talk about big dreams, we chase them. The Cowboy Code reminds us to give our all, stand for what matters and finish what we start. The Code Calls campaign is our chance to do just that.”

The so-called “silent phase” of the campaign began in July 2021, and so far, more than 81,000 alumni and friends have given nearly $900 million. The campaign is scheduled to run through 2030, led by members of the Executive Campaign Board.

Blaire Atkinson, the president of the OSU Foundation, a fundraising arm of the university, said the campaign includes four core pillars she said reflect OSU’s values and vision – Living the Cowboy Way, Creating Life-Changing Opportunities, Leading with Humility and Powering Progress.

“The code calls us to step up, show up and fuel the next generation of big dreams,” Atkinson said. “At OSU, we make the impossible seem routine because we are a community rooted in resilience, hard work and heart. This campaign is a movement to tell the world what it truly means to be a Cowboy.”

It’s at least the second OSU fundraising campaign with a 10-figure goal. In 2010, then-OSU President Burns Hargis announced the $1 billion “Branding Success” campaign, fueled in part through major gifts from megadonor T. Boone Pickens. Billie and Ross McKnight of Throckmorton, Texas, donors who led the ”Branding Success” campaign, are honorary chairs of “The Code Calls” campaign.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State University hopes to raise $2B in fundraising campaign