Memorial Fund Enables Students to Showcase Their Work

When asked what inspired the Tate Memorial Fund, Jeff Tate says it all started with a tractor. While working as associate director of the Biotechnology Institute at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Twin Cities, he “had a philanthropic twinge.” Tate set out to use a 1951 Farmall Super C tractor, rebuilt and restored by his grandfather, to raise community awareness of farming and its importance. But after finding it difficult, Tate thought about how else he could honor his grandparents’ legacy. Both were “always very big on education,” says Jeff. He, along with his mother, Betty, decided to sell the tractor to a collector museum and put the money from the sale toward a family endowment fund that would benefit college students, in memory of his grandparents, Owen and Francis Tate.

The Owen W. and Frances A. Tate Memorial Fund for Student Learning is to be used at the chancellor’s discretion to support student learning activities that do not have other funding sources available. The fund will match 50% of the money spent to cover travel expenses for students presenting scholarly work at symposia and professional meetings, or engaging in artistic activities, research projects or performances outside of the UMN Morris campus community that uniquely showcase UMN Morris to a broader learning community.

The Tates chose to set up the fund for the Morris campus because of its proximity to where his grandparents had lived in Clinton, about 30 miles west of Morris, and felt that the fund would have more impact at a smaller campus. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to be philanthropic and make a difference,” says Jeff. “It’s okay to start small and, as more resources become available to you, you can increase your pledges so it builds over time.”

“It has been such fun doing this,” says Jeff of sponsoring the fund over the past 30 years. “It’s an opportunity to touch the future.” This fund, he says, allows students to do what they otherwise may not be able to do.

“It’s really about the students—for them to be able to travel outside of Morris and showcase their work.”

So far, 28 students have been “Tate scholars.”

Like Jeff, you can create a legacy with a gift in your estate plan that helps provide opportunities for future generations of UMN Morris students. Contact Susan Schmidgall, CDO, at 320-589-6160 or sschmidg@morris.umn.edu to learn more.