Aggies have rallied behind Texas A&M University’s beloved Memorial Student Center (MSC), giving $5.7 million for its renovation. One of the latest gifts is $1 million from Trisha and L.C. “Chaz” Neely Jr. of San Antonio. These gifts benefit the “Our MSC: A Tribute to Honor” campaign, a $20 million drive led by the Texas A&M Foundation at the request of the university.

The total cost of the MSC renovation and expansion, due for completion in summer 2012, is approximately $125 million. Student fees will cover about $82 million of the project, which will add space for student organizations as well as bring the facility into compliance with current building codes and Americans with Disabilities Act standards.

“I was impressed that students voted to pay for most of the renovation,” Neely said. “When I visit campus, I see how popular the MSC is as a gathering place, especially during football weekends. I also know many student organizations operate out of the MSC, training future leaders. It should be a nice place for Aggies to enjoy and be proud of. Trisha and I wanted to be part of that. I hope our gift will encourage other Aggies to give back in some way.”

Other major gifts benefiting the MSC project include $300,000 from Mary and James B. Crawley of Norman, Okla. In recognition of their generosity, an exhibit room within the J. Wayne Stark Galleries of the MSC will bear their names. “We have supported the arts in several places and have been concerned about the relative lack of emphasis on art at A&M,” Jim Crawley said. “We thought this would be a good opportunity for us to support the arts at A&M.”

Donors who recently gave $200,000 to the project are Texas A&M University’s Class of 1962; Kay and Jerry Cox of Houston; Joy and Ralph Ellis of Irving; former Texas A&M Foundation trustee Ray Rothrock and his wife, Meredith; Jane and R. Ken Williams of Midland; and the Sul Ross Group, which is made up of Aggies whose class years date from at least 55 years ago. The names of each donor will appear on a pillar in the MSC’s revered Flag Room.

The donors of three additional new gifts of $100,000 will be acknowledged by pillars elsewhere within the MSC: Bonnie and Trent B. Latshaw of Tulsa, Okla.; Lynda and Craig Noonan of San Antonio; and Ginger and Terry Rathert of Magnolia.

Lead donors to the MSC campaign include College Station residents Patti and Weldon Kruger, who gave real estate to the Texas A&M Foundation and dedicated some proceeds from its sale to the MSC Building Fund. “The MSC served Aggies well for more than 50 years. We chose to support the renovation because it will make the MSC much more functional as the student body nears and even exceeds 50,000,” said Weldon Kruger, who graduated from Texas A&M in 1953 and was a student during its 1951 dedication.

Additional lead donors to the Foundation campaign were the Ed Rachal Foundation, the Jean Deere estate and Lt. Col. Jack H. Murray Jr. of Saint Petersburg, Fla., who died in July.

To contribute to the MSC project, contact David Wilkinson or Cindy Munson at (800) 392-3310, d-wilkinson@tamu.edu or c-munson@tamu.edu. For more information about the Texas A&M Foundation, a private nonprofit organization soliciting and managing funds for the university, visit giving.tamu.edu. MSC project details are online at ourmsc.tamu.edu.