Giving Societies

Jerome J. Lohr, a farm kid from Raymond, SD, was invited to South Dakota State College in 1954, along with other academically gifted high school seniors. He was offered an $84 scholarship; he never considered any other college after that.

The 1958 civil engineering graduate has thrived as an entrepreneur in California, building a successful custom-home business and J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines. He has remained connected to his home state and alma mater, joining what was formerly known as the SDSU Foundation board in 1988 and leading three of the university’s comprehensive campaigns. He was among the first funders of the landmark Jackrabbit Guarantee Scholarship Program and has since created the Lohr Scholars – a renewable $5,000 scholarship for high-achieving South Dakota students majoring in engineering. He was a founder of the university’s architecture program.

The College of Engineering was renamed the Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering in 2013. The Lohr Building also serves as home to the SDSU Alumni & Foundation.

Lohr has been the complete team player for SDSU and the Foundation – a transformational donor, a relentless fundraiser, and an always-present volunteer.

He is the first living donor to have a lifetime giving society named in his honor. The Jerome J. Lohr Society recognizes donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of at least $20 million.

Born in Carthage, SD, in 1885, Charles L. Coughlin earned an engineering degree from South Dakota State in 1909. For 35 years, Coughlin served as CEO of Briggs & Stratton.

Coughlin provided the financial support to construct SDSU’s famed Campanile, which was completed in 1929. In addition, he was the major benefactor for the Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. He was a lifelong fan of his alma mater and often would return for football games and campus visits.

In honor of Coughlin’s vision for the SDSU campus, the Charles L. Coughlin Society recognizes donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $10 million and above.

Theodore W. Schultz was born in Arlington, SD, in 1902 and grew up on a farm near Badger, SD. He earned his bachelor’s degree in agriculture from South Dakota State College in 1928. Esther Werth Schultz grew up near Frankfort, SD, and earned her bachelor’s degree in commercial science from SDSC in 1927.

Dr. and Mrs. Schultz maintained the philosophy that the world’s most important economic resource is the acquired abilities of people. Theodore Schultz was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1979 for his theory on the investment in human capital. The Schultz-Werth Award at SDSU was established in 1964 to promote and recognize the scholarly achievements of undergraduate students.

In recognition of Schultz’s Nobel Prize, the Theodore and Esther Schultz Society honors donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $5 million to $9,999,999.

Mildred Stoker White became one of South Dakota State University’s most generous benefactors, even though she never attended SDSU, and her late husband, Roger, attended only briefly. Mildred and Roger were both Sioux Falls Washington High graduates, but the onset of the Great Depression limited their options for college. Together, they built a successful furniture factory business in Pontiac, IL.

Roger died in 1972. Mildred’s first gift to SDSU was a $40,000 contribution in 1992. That was followed by 14 different gifts over the next 4 ½ years. In all, Mildred Stoker White contributed $3.6 million to SDSU.

“We were just average people – just hardworking and dedicated to doing our best,” Mildred wrote in 1992. “God was good to us – we realized our ambition,s and now it is time to share our good fortunes.”

Mildred Stoker White is the first non-alumni to have a lifetime giving society at SDSU named in her honor. In recognition of White’s contributions, the Mildred Stoker White Society honors donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $2.5 million to $4,999,999.

Stephen F. Briggs was a 1907 electrical engineering graduate of South Dakota State. Even during his student days, Briggs’ interest was drawn to gasoline engines. In 1909, he established in Milwaukee his first manufacturing company, Briggs & Stratton, in which he continued the development of engines. He served as president and later as Chairman of the Board for the Outboard Marine Manufacturing Company, especially noted for Evinrude and Johnson outboard engines.

In 1958, he created the Briggs Scholarship Program to recognize scholastic excellence among SDSU students.

In honor of the Briggs’ prestigious scholarship program, the Stephen F. Briggs Society recognizes donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $1 million to $2,499,999.

Ethel Austin Martin, a 1916 graduate of South Dakota State and long-experienced in the nutrition field, joined her husband in endowing a faculty chair in human nutrition. Dr. Martin was Director of Nutrition Services for the National Dairy Council for 22 years. She authored several textbooks on nutrition and achieved national recognition as a human nutrition professor, scientist, and author.

The purpose of the Ethel Austin Martin Endowed Program in Human Nutrition is to promote multidisciplinary and collaborative education and research projects in the area of human nutrition.

In honor of the Martin Chair in Human Nutrition, the Ethel Austin Martin Society recognizes donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $500,000 to $999,999.

William M. Griffith, a 1923 SDSU agronomy graduate, joined the banking business in 1924 and spent a 50-year career at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Huron. He served as president of the Huron bank from 1947 until his retirement in 1979. Byrne Smith Griffith, a Brookings native, had attended SDSU in the early 1920s and went on to study music.

The William Mibra Griffith and Byrne S. Griffith Scholarship Fund benefits juniors and seniors majoring in an agricultural program at SDSU. Also in their names are funds to support projects in the field of animal and plant diseases and an educational fund to support entertaining and stimulating performances at SDSU in the field of music, art, or drama, or lectures by outstanding individuals in those fields.

In appreciation of the Griffiths’ desire to support students, the William M. Griffith Society recognizes donors with lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $250,000 to $499,999.

Members of the Distinguished University Patrons are recognized for their lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $100,000 to $249,999.

Members of the Distinguished University Benefactors are recognized for their lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $50,000 to $99,999.

Members of the SDSU Associates are recognized for their lifetime gifts and commitments through the SDSU Alumni & Foundation of $25,000 - $49,999.