Tri-State University has received one of its largest individual gifts in school history.  Dr. Robert L. and Dolores Jannen have donated $500,000 to TSU, with an additional $500,000 differed pledge. Dr. Jannen graduated from Tri-State College in 1950.

             

“There are few individuals in the history of Tri-State that have supported their alma mater with as much passion and dedication as Bob Jannen,” said Dr. Earl D. Brooks II, president of Tri-State University.  “We are indebted to him and Dolores for their loyalty and generosity. This seven-figure gift will help us advance our ‘Vision for the Future’ campaign, including our new University Center, and it continues TSU’s recent fundraising successes.”

Jannen has been a member of the TSU Board of Trustees since 1969, the second-longest tenure in school history. He served as chairman from 1988 to 1991, when the board named him chairman emeritus. He was honored by Tri-State with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1975 and was selected as the Commencement speaker for the Class of 1975. He received the school’s Distinguished Service Award in 1967. In 1992, he established the Jannen Renaissance Awards, given annually to one student who pursued, and one faculty member who encouraged, a breadth of education.

             

A 1943 graduate of the U.S. Maritime Service Cadet Academy and a veteran of World War II, Jannen entered Tri-State in 1947 and completed a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering in 1950. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration, with honors, from the University of California at Los Angeles, where he was class president.

             

During his 50-year career, Jannen held many senior positions, including president of Burnley Corporation, president of John Blue Company, and executive vice president and president of Leach Corporation. In addition, he was an executive with American Machine and Foundry and held various positions with Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation and C.F. Braun Company. Also, he founded Seas, Ltd., a product development firm for electrical components.

Throughout his career, Jannen was recognized for his accomplishments. His name has appeared in Who’s Who in Commerce & Industry, Who’s Who in Aviation, Who’s Who in the West, Leading Men in the United States, and Biographies of International Business Leaders. His international travels have included speaking engagements at the Paris Air Show and before the Japanese Industrial Association.

The gift was received at an ideal time for TSU, which has been selected by The Lilly Endowment in its second phase of a fundraising initiative.  During the fundraising initiative, Lilly Endowment will match $1.50 for every $1 TSU receives from its supporters, up to $3 million.  Through the initiative, the Jannen’s cash gift will be matched with an additional $750,000.

Since 2001, when TSU’s Vision for the Future Campaign was launched, the University has raised more than $52 million in 50 months.