Donation creates endowed economics chair at University of Central

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Feb 16, 2006 by David Page

The University of Central Oklahoma has received gifts to create an endowed chair in the economics department and to support the actuarial and insurance programs.

Arnold and Delores Rauh Metzger, parents of the late Michael Metzger, created the Michael Metzger Endowed Chair. Michael Metzger died in January 2005.

This generous gift from the Metzger family will allow economics students to forever benefit from professors who will embody those characteristics which most describe Dr. Metzger: intelligent, ethical, principled and dedicated, said Anne Holzberlein, president of the UCO Foundation.

The Metzgers' original gift was $190,000. An additional pledge of $60,000 will allow the university to apply for matching funds through the State Regents for Higher Education Endowment Fund Program.

Dr. Metzger's expertise will forever live on at UCO through the Endowed Chair, said Mike Shirley, dean of the UCO College of Business Administration.

He was passionate about his academic discipline, Shirley said. He was a scholar, researcher and mentor to many. But mostly Dr. Metzger was a teacher, a gifted, caring teacher. He had the unique ability to shape complex material into meaningful, understandable terms with insight and practical application.

State Farm Insurance also donated $6,000 to the UCO Foundation to support the actuarial science and insurance programs.

We feel that this is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a difference, to use some of our resources in an area that is very important to us, said Dennis Chaumont, a State Farm representative.

UCO has the state's only four-year degree programs in both actuarial science and insurance.

It's very rare that a university has both an insurance degree and actuarial science program, and we are excited about supporting academic programs that are so closely related to our core business, said Bruce Hopkins, of State Farm.

Most of the money will be used to support UCO's Actuary and Insurance Club.

The club is one of the most effective ways to support and integrate students into our programs, said Holzberlein. It serves an important function as a conduit for information, a guide to careers and a support network for students in the field, and State Farm's generous donation will ensure that the club will continue to flourish at UCO.

Randal Ice, chairman of the UCO Department of Finance and Insurance, is the adviser for the Actuary and Insurance Club.

UCO's College of Liberal Arts also received gifts for English majors.

The Everett family, Mark Allen Everett and Howard Dean Everett, will be offering University of Central Oklahoma English majors $2,000 in awards and scholarships during the College of Liberal Art's annual Spring Awards Program on April 22.

The Everett family created the awards to honor two former faculty members - Claude Arnold and Frank Finney.

Howard Dean Everett was a student of Arnold and Finney while majoring in English at the then-Central State University.

Arnold retired in 1971. Arnold also was a member of the Modern Language Association and the Shakespeare Society.

Finney joined Central State University in 1959 as assistant professor of English. In 1965, he was selected as chairperson of the English Department, and in 1971 became the first dean of the newly formed College of Liberal Arts, a position he held until his death in 1984.

One English major will be awarded a $1,000 tuition scholarship and two others will receive $500 cash awards that will be administered through the Everett Foundation Fund.