Page 14 - CEMS News Summer 2020

GIVING MATTERS
A lifetime of giving
Chris and Kathleen Macosko amplify their impact on faculty and graduate students.
When Emeritus Professor Chris Macosko and his wife, Kathleen, arrived in CEMS 50 years ago, they likely could not have imagined the profound impact that the two of them would make collectively on the lives of generations of students, faculty and staff, and on the very department itself. Nor could they have imagined the innumerable ways in which CEMS would shape their own lives.
Over these past five decades, Chris and Kathleen have given generously through both service and philanthropy. After raising four children in south Minneapolis they unexpectedly were offered the opportunity to buy a 10-bedroom duplex across from the campus. There,
they created a living community for students, mostly international and many from CEMS. Kathleen enrolled in seminary and eventually became the pastor of a church just a block away. Their lives became even more invested in students.
This March, the Macoskos made yet another remarkable investment, this time in the department. By naming CEMS as a beneficiary of a tax-deferred retirement account, the Macoskos will realize their desire to elevate the Chris Macosko Professorship to that of an Endowed Chair, while also benefiting the Chris and Kathleen Macosko Graduate Fellowship. Their gift of retirement assets will pass tax-free to CEMS, avoiding income and possibly estate taxes, ensuring that the full value of their gift will benefit faculty and students in the department for the next century. Chris believes that “an endowed chair is an effective way to attract, retain and honor an outstanding member of our faculty.”
Pride for the maroon and gold runs deep for Chris and Kathleen Macosko, pictured at the CEMS Homecoming festivities in October 2019.
The Macoskos’ generosity furthers the department’s Next 100 Campaign, which aims to raise $30 million by June 30, 2021.
Thank you, Chris and Kathleen for making this wonderful gift and affirming your unwavering belief in the future of CEMS – now and for the next 100 years!
Group effort: 2020 CEMS Class Gift
The third annual CEMS Class Gift effort was also disrupted by the COVID shutdown, but still resulted in a positive outcome. The fundraising effort to support improvements to the H. Ted Davis Undergraduate Lounge and establish Class of 2020 scholarships had just begun when the University transitioned to remote operations. Thus, a typically fun, engaging opportunity for seniors to unite and “pay it forward” to the Class of 2021 wasn’t possible. However, CEMS faculty and staff members honored the graduating class by making personal gifts to the cause. As a result of this unified approach, approximately $4,000 total was raised, providing Kendra Brickley and Scott McCullough with 2020 CEMS Class Gift Scholarships and new chairs in the lounge.
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