February 15, 2024 – Portales, NM – Eastern New Mexico University announced today that it has received a $2-million-dollar donation from the Allsup Family Charitable Foundation.
This $2-million-dollar donation is the largest single donation ever made to the ENMU Foundation.
The donation is designated as the following: $418,200 to fund early childhood development initiatives; $1,581,800 will be used to establish a new Allsup Family Endowment to benefit the education, health care, agriculture, and business programs at ENMU.
"On behalf of ENMU, I express our deepest appreciation to the Allsup Family Charitable Foundation. Gifts such as this are truly transformational," said James Johnston, ENMU Chancellor. "As a regional comprehensive university, these funds will change the lives of the students we serve as well as the region in which we live and work."
The early childhood development initiatives include a "We Believe in You" scholarship, a Child Development Center (CDC) internship program, and a farm-to-table initiative.
The "We Believe in You" Scholarship incentive is for transfer students entering the Teacher Education program, allowing them to move seamlessly into the ENMU teaching program. The Child Development Center internship program will establish a new pre-residency program that embeds education students into early childhood education classes, providing a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn from highly qualified teachers at the Child Development Center.
The farm-to-table initiative will include a partnership between ENMU's Agriculture and Culinary Arts department and the Child Development Center to provide hands-on activities, nutritional education, and life-long learning about food sustainability for pre-Kindergarten and ENMU students. The project would complement the CDC's ongoing partnership with ENMU's Culinary Arts program, which provides meals and snacks for the children of the CDC during the academic year.
The new Allsup Family Endowment will support students in the education, health care, agriculture, and business programs at ENMU. The vice president for Academic Affairs will field applications from departmental deans to award funds for proposals that have an innovative and sustained impact on the lives of ENMU students and the State of New Mexico. Awards will begin in the fall of 2027.
"One of the biggest challenges our state faces is a shortage of highly qualified teachers; the Allsup Family Foundation's philanthropic foresight enables us to 'grow our own' educators and enhance New Mexico's skilled workforce," said Jamie Laurenz, Vice President of Academic Affairs. "In addition to the College of Education and Technology, this substantial gift will help advance our academic strengths in business, agriculture, and health care."
