With honor and humility, I am pleased to accept the nomination to serve as the Chairman of the East Central University Foundation, Inc., for the upcoming year. I have been personally involved in many activities of the Foundation and the University over the past year, and have viewed firsthand the synergistic relation that exists. President John Hargrave and Foundation Director Phyllis Danley share a devotion and commitment to ECU, and it is apparent in all that they do. As the largest foundation of the six regional universities, the ECU Foundation, Inc. continues to move ahead in its purpose to benefit the University's students, its faculty and its programs.
Financially, the Foundation's investment portfolio continues to recover from the market harships of 2008-2009, and as a result, the Foundation will be able to partner with the University, the Chickasaw Nation, Harland and Shirley Stonecipher, and numerous other donors in the construction of the new School of Business/Conference Center. Several new scholarships were established last year, which can only mean good things for ECU students and faculty. The Foundation will also play an active role in the upcoming Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Season as an underwriter for the season thanks to the Masonic Endowment for Cultural Enrichment and the Vinita Oliver Fine Arts Endowment.
Thanks ahead of time to the Foundation Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee for serving with me, and I would also like to thank the numerous donors who give their time and resources for the betterment of the University. Please join us as we start a new and exciting year for the Foundation and East Central University.