Timeline of WT’s One West Campaign, Major Gifts Through Sept. 9, 2025

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

Nov. 17, 2017

WTAMU Announces Engler Gift as Largest in University History

Officials at West Texas A&M University today announced its largest gift in the University’s 107-year history. Paul Engler and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation have agreed to donate at least $1 million a year for a period of no less than 80 years to the institution.

In response, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has granted naming rights to the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business.

For more, click here.

Feb. 11, 2021

Historic Gift Will Fund Baptist Community Services Nursing Education Floor for WT

In the largest gift in its history, High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation will give $3 million to support West Texas A&M University’s nursing program.

The gift also is the fourth-largest single gift in the University’s history.

For more, click here.

April 22, 2021

WT Announces Multimillion-Dollar Estate Gift to Cornette Library’s Texas Poets’ Corner

West Texas A&M University officials today announced a $2.8 million estate gift that will endow three professorships and a scholarship fund, as well as support a significant legacy initiative to expand holdings and programs of Cornette Library’s Texas Poets’ Corner.

This substantial gift comes from the estate of the late Dr. Jenny Lind Porter Scott, a former Texas Poet Laureate and WT assistant professor of English.

Known professionally as Jenny Lind Porter, she began donating her collection of rare books, art and antique furnishings to WT more than 20 years ago, leading to the establishment of the Texas Poets’ Corner in 2003.

For more, click here.

Sept. 23, 2021

WT Launches $125 Million Fundraising Campaign, Largest in Panhandle History

West Texas A&M University made history Sept. 23 with the official public unveiling of its new $125 million comprehensive fundraising campaign.

The One West campaign is designed to fuel the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

At a Sept. 23 launch party in Buffalo Stadium on WT’s campus in Canyon, campaign leaders announced the overall goal and priorities of the campaign, which will run through 2025.

For more, click here.

Sept. 24, 2021

Working Ranch East of Canyon to Be Used by WT Students, Faculty Following Gift

West Texas A&M University’s land holdings are expanding with the addition of a new working ranch to be used in training students.

As part of the rollout of the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, WT officials announced Friday the planned gift of the Gerdsen Family Centennial Ranch to the WTAMU Foundation. The 1,772-acre ranch is located near the WTAMU Nance Ranch, approximately seven miles east of Canyon, expanding WT’s footprint in that area to more than 4,000 acres.

For more, click here.

Dec. 9, 2021

$5 Million Gift to WT Will Have Far-Reaching Impact on U.S. Meat Industry

Two major gifts to West Texas A&M University totaling $5 million will help ensure the continued excellence of the University’s meat science program.

Dr. Gordon W. Davis, a Lubbock businessman and former educator, has pledged $3.75 million to fund two chairs in the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences. An additional $1.25 million has been pledged by Caviness Beef Packers for one of those chairs.

For more, click here.

Feb. 21, 2022

WT Education Building to Be Named for Geneva Schaeffer Following $2.5 Million Gift

The second-oldest building on West Texas A&M University’s campus will be posthumously named for a graduate whose roots with the University ran deep, WT officials announced today.

The Education Building will be christened the Geneva Schaeffer Education Building, named in memory of a distinguished alumna who attended not only WT, but also the demonstration school that once was housed in the building that now will bear her name.

As part of the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, the Schaeffer family agreed to donate $2.5 million to WT as part of a wide-ranging effort to bring the Education Building back to life.

For more, click here.

Feb. 28, 2022

WT’s Buffalo Stadium to Be Renamed Following $5 Million Gift

Two families whose generosity to West Texas A&M University stretches back generations now have given an additional $5 million to the University, officials announced today.

In recognition, the premiere football stadium in all of Division II Athletics will now bear their names: The Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

For more, click here.

March 9, 2022

WT’s College of Education and Social Sciences to Be Named for Longtime Regional Educator Terry B. Rogers Following $5 Million Gift

West Texas A&M University’s anchor college will be named for a prominent regional educator following a $5 million gift.

The newly dubbed Terry B. Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences was unveiled today at a press conference in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center.

For more, click here.

March 23, 2022

WT’s One West Campaign Thunders Past $100 Million in Just Six Months

West Texas A&M University’s One West campaign has raised a record-breaking $108 million just six months since its public launch, WT officials announced today.

The current total—specifically, $107,755,000, as of March 22—surpasses WT leaders’ expectations and more than doubles the amount raised by the University’s last fundraising campaign, officials said.

For more, click here.

March 30, 2022

Dalhart Couple’s Gift to Fund Regional Arts Outreach by WT Students, Faculty

A program that brings performances by West Texas A&M University artists to towns around the Texas Panhandle has now been permanently funded by a Dalhart couple.

The Louise C. and Gene F. Rahll Endowment for the Showcase in a Suitcase program, following a $300,000 gift to WT’s One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, will enable WT’s cultural impact to extend around the Texas Panhandle.

For more, click here.

April 13, 2022

WT’s Hill Chapel to Be Extensively Renovated Following $1.5 Million Gift

A beloved West Texas A&M University landmark will undergo the first major renovations in its 72-year history after a $1.5 million gift from the High Plains Christian Ministries Foundation.

Exterior and interior work will begin in the summer of 2023 on the Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel following the gift, which was announced during an April 13 press conference.

For more, click here.

April 26, 2022

WT Alumna Pledges $1.8 Million for Women’s Athletics Scholarships, Program Support

A former West Texas A&M University female athlete who played at a time when women had to hustle not only in their sport but also for resources to play will give nearly $2 million to provide scholarships for student athletes and assistance for each of WT’s women’s athletics teams, WT officials announced today.

Judy Fugate, an Amarillo resident who played badminton and bowled for the University in the 1960s and early 1970s, has set up the Judy Fugate Lady Buff Scholarship endowment, a $1.85 million legacy gift to the One West comprehensive fundraising campaign that will ensure top female athletes will receive annual scholarships.

For more, click here.

Sept. 7, 2022

WT Smashes Fundraising Records in Fiscal Year 2022

West Texas A&M University shattered fundraising records in fiscal year 2022, the first year of its historic One West comprehensive campaign.

More than $29 million was raised in major and annual gifts between Sept. 1, 2021, and Aug. 31 of this year. That’s nearly $14 million more than the amount raised in fiscal year 2021, the previous record-setting year.

For more, click here.

Dec. 15, 2022

Former WT President, Wife Establish New Program in Small Animal Studies

A major gift from a former president of West Texas A&M University and his wife will allow the University to significantly expand its foothold in pre-veterinary education and animal studies.

WT President Emeritus Russell C. Long and wife Natrelle Hedrick Long have announced a $2.1 million planned gift to the University to establish a new companion animal science program for students planning on a career in veterinary medicine or in a host of other pet-related careers.

For more, click here.

Feb. 2, 2023

Major Scholarship Gift to Pay Full Tuition for Pampa, White Deer Graduates at WT

A $1.5 million endowment will cover tuition costs for four years at West Texas A&M University for Pampa and White Deer students, thanks to a recent gift by a Pampa man in memory of his late wife.

The Donna Carol Germany Cofer Endowed Scholarship will provide a minimum of $10,000 per academic year to selected students from Pampa and White Deer, thanks to a gift from Bill Cofer, a retired purchasing agent for Cabot Corp. in Pampa.

For more, click here.

Feb. 14, 2023

Amarillo National Bank Names School at WT Following $3 Million Gift

For the first time in more than 10 years, West Texas A&M University has a newly established school, following a $3 million gift from Amarillo National Bank—the largest gift in the bank’s history.

With the gift and its Feb. 9 approval by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, the Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance in the Paul & Virginia Engler College of Business will be elevated to a school, WT and ANB officials announced at a Feb. 14 news conference in Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center.

For more, click here.

May 11, 2023

WT’s One West Campaign Reaches Historic $125 Million Goal; Fundraising to Continue

 less than 600 days since its public launch, West Texas A&M University’s historic One West campaign has reached its $125 million goal, officials announced May 11.

For more, click here.

Sept. 21, 2023

WT’s One West Campaign Sets New Goal: $175 Million

West Texas A&M University today announced an ambitious new goal for its One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, already the largest in Texas Panhandle history.

Almost exactly two years after the campaign was publicly launched and just four months after its first goal was reached, One West leaders announced that they aim to raise a staggering $175 million by the time the campaign ends in 2025.

For more, click here.

Oct. 4, 2023

Historic $20 Million Gift by Fairlys to Fund WT’s Hill Institute Promoting West Texas Values

A momentous gift from a prominent pair of West Texas A&M University alumni will fund a scholarly institute at the University that will focus on the promotion of Texas Panhandle values, officials announced today.

Following a $20 million gift from Cheryl and Alex Fairly, now the largest family gift for WT’s One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, the University will fund The Hill Institute, an interdisciplinary academy of researchers, teachers and students.

For more, click here.

March 7, 2024

Laura and Joe Street Name WT’s School of Nursing with $2.5 Million Gift

A prominent Amarillo couple is making their largest-ever personal gift to West Texas A&M University to support its nursing program.

Laura and Joe Street joined with WT officials during a March 7 press conference to announce their $2.5 million gift to establish the Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing in WT’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.

For more, click here.

April 16, 2024

Ranchland Gift Secures Location for New WT Research Feedlot

Nearly 43 acres of ranchland recently given to West Texas A&M University will facilitate the construction of a new feedlot for the University.

Brothers Mike and Gary Kuhlman made a land legacy gift of 42.84 acres of property adjacent to the Nance Ranch’s west property line. The gifted land, valued at $425,000, will serve as the location for a new WT Research Feedlot and Education Center.

For more, click here.

Sept. 30, 2024

WT Alumna Sets Up $1 Million Scholarship Endowment for Female Student Athletes

A planned gift of $1 million will support West Texas A&M University female athletes, officials announced today.

The gift establishes the Lisa G. Hennen Endowment for Lady Buff Athletics, named for the donor, a WT alumna. Hennen also made an immediate gift of $25,000.

For more, click here.

Sept. 9, 2025

$5 Million Gift to WT’s College of Engineering Will Enhance Regional Research

A $5 million gift to West Texas A&M University’s College of Engineering will establish a research arm that will advance vital innovations in the region.

The gift, from a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous, is the largest single gift to date for WT’s engineering college. It also pushes WT’s historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign over its $175 million goal.

The foundation’s gift will help establish an institute for engineering research, which will further cement WT’s status as a Regional Research University.

For more, click here.

About West Texas A&M University

A Regional Research University, West Texas A&M University is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. A Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, WT boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. WT recently earned a Carnegie Foundation classification as a Research College and University. The University also is home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 16 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WT—