Meet the team

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On July 31, 2007
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National Chair

Gary Forsee, CE’72, chairman and CEO of Sprint Nextel Corp.

Forsee believes alumni can have an invaluable influence on UMR’s legacy of educational excellence. “As part of the campaign leadership team and as a member of the Board of Trustees, I believe the ability to help set an agenda for the university based on a wide range of inputs is a critical step in the campaign process. A lot of voices need to be heard and they will be. From that we can in some measure ensure that the future remains bright for this institution.”

Tri-Chairs

  1. Keith Bailey, ME’64, retired chairman, president and CEO of the Williams Companies
    Bailey believes outside support for students is vital.
    “Costs of education have far outstripped inflation since I was a student and the pressure to raise tuition at dramatic rates continues unabated. The only way it is going to come under control is for the private sector, alumni and others, to help provide supplemental funding through these types of campaigns. With my gifts, I hope to enable students who might not otherwise have the chance to get an engineering degree…and to help the university provide a superior educational and campus experience for those students.”
  2. David Price, CE’68, president and CEO of Birdet Price LLC
    Price learned to appreciate hard work and commitment early in life and believes in the importance of giving back to a university that helped mold his character.
    “I was an inner city St. Louis kid, an African American boy who was always on the brink of doubting who I was or what I could become. Thanks to some technical molding at UMR, I was launched into the world with the confidence to tackle any obstacle. I have achieved accolades and credentials, but it is only because a greater number of people helped me and made an investment in me and that requires a return on their investment. I want the students and future engineers at UMR to surpass my accomplishments because they can.”
  3. Gary Havener, Math’62, manager of Phazar Aerocorp, owner of the Maple Leaf Companies and president of Lake Hollow Corp.
    Havener believes alumni can help students understand the value of their hard work.
    “We can lead students to understand what a great asset a technical background can be in enriching their lives intellectually, financially and in other ways. Those of us in this campaign leadership were once simply students like them wearing jeans and sweatshirts, studying and struggling with new concepts we were learning, and wondering if we had enough money to get us through another year.”
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Posted by

On July 31, 2007. Posted in Features