Despite the cold spring rain, Chancellor Brady J. Deaton described Tuesday as “a green day for Mizzou.”
Green like the $2 million cash gift from Enterprise Holdings Foundation. Green like the logo of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. And green like the sustainability initiative the gift will fund.
MU will use the rare unrestricted cash gift (more than 97 percent of MU’s endowment is restricted for a specific use or program) to create an endowment to support the Mizzou Advantage Sustainable Energy initiative.
“This gift will advance our mission by funding collaborative and innovative research and educational opportunities,” said Deaton, citing the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, the research reactor, the biomass boiler at the Power Plant and Shibu Jose’s research on sustainable ecology.
“This gift shows how Enterprise recognizes what Mizzou can do and do very well,” Deaton said.
Founded in St. Louis and still headquartered there, Enterprise Holdings has strong ties to Missouri.
With more than 600 graduates working at Enterprise, Mizzou provides the company with more employees than any other higher education institution in the world.
MU alumni at Enterprise include President and COO Pam Nicholson, BS HES ’81, and Executive Vice President and CFO William Snyder, BS BA ’72, MS ’75.
“In order to remain successful, our company needs the best and brightest people in leadership roles,” said Carolyn Kindle, vice president and executive director of the Enterprise Holdings Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the company.
“The University of Missouri helps us meet that need.”
— Kelsey Allen