TSU has received a one-million-dollar gift from a former trustee and alumnus. It marks the second million-dollar gift the university has received this year.

Dr. Clifford W. Sponsel, a 1931 civil engineering graduate and trustee emeritus, donated $1,000,000 to TSU earlier this month. The contribution will help support the university’s signature building: University Center and Center for Technology & Online Resources, a $13.5 million, 100,000-sq. ft. building that will serve as the central hub of activities on the Angola campus.

“There are no words to describe the deep gratitude Tri-State has for Dr. Sponsel and his wife, Juliette,” remarked Dr. Earl D. Brooks II, president of Tri-State University. “Cliff’s loyalty to, and support of, Tri-State spans more than three decades. He has set a standard of excellence for alumni support.”

Sponsel began his career as a project engineer for General Motors, then moved onto positions with Glenn Martin Company, Bell Aircraft Corp., and Ryan Aeronautics Corp. He was owner and CEO of Western Design & Manufacturing and Spectral Dynamics. During his career, Sponsel worked on military aircraft for World War II and the Korean Conflict.

In 1977, TSU presented Sponsel with a Distinguished Service Award. In 1985, TSU conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Engineering. In 1996, in recognition of his contributions to the renovation of TSU’s engineering building (Fawick Hall), TSU named the building’s main entrance Sponsel Tower. In 1999, he was named Trustee Emeritus for his 21-year tenure on the TSU Board of Trustees.

In November 2003, in honor of his $1 million gift to support the renovation of the university’s 100-year-old building, TSU renamed it the C.W. Sponsel Administration Center. (In 2005, the exterior renovation earned a national first place award for masonry.)

This gift marks the fourth million-dollar-plus gift TSU has received in the last 27 months. In addition to Sponsel’s two, million-dollar gifts, TSU received a $3.5 million gift in August 2005 from the estate of Maxine Bateman Kolb, former first lady of Tri-State, and a $1 million gift in January 2006 from trustee emeritus and alumnus Dr. Robert L. (’50) and Dolores Jannen.