MU Receives Gift from State Farm Insurance to Support Various Programs

June 28th, 2016

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Officials from the University of Missouri today recognized State Farm Insurance Company for their recent donation of $128,600 to MU. This latest gift brings State Farm’s giving to Mizzou academic programs for the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead campaign to $520,600. State Farm’s total giving to MU is now more than $1.8 million.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the generosity of State Farm and Mizzou’s long-standing partnership with the company,” said Tom Hiles, MU vice chancellor for advancement. “State Farm’s continued support in important MU community outreach programs shows their dedication and investment in bettering the community and state, and we thank them for their vision.”

The money will support several MU programs including:

• MU Extension’s Fire and Rescue Training Institute
• MU Health Care’s Frank Mitchell Trauma Center for Motor Vehicle Crash Outreach
• Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business’s Risk Management and Insurance Program
• MU College of Human Environmental Sciences Office for Financial Success
• MU College of Human Environmental Sciences Family Impact Center

Fire Rescue Training Institute

The Fire Rescue Training Institute (FRTI) is housed in MU Extension. The gift from State Farm will be used to fund essential training for Missouri emergency responders to highway incidents. Through this training, the responders will gain additional competency in the quick stabilization and removal of accident victims to improve patient survival while safely managing the incident scene and preventing additional accidents and injuries. These techniques enable first responders to deliver victims to treatment centers more quickly, improving patients’ chances of survival. This course is requested by emergency responders more than any other course offered by FRTI. The funding provided to MU FRTI will sponsor 30 courses providing training to an estimated 750 firefighters and emergency responders throughout the state. This year, State Farm donated $48,600 to support this program.

Frank L. Mitchell, Jr., MD Trauma Center for Motor Vehicle Crash Outreach

This year’s gift of $25,000 builds on previous gifts from State Farm that demonstrated peer-to-peer counseling improves outcomes among vulnerable older adults who are considering the transition to driving retirement. The goals of the project are to reduce crashes among older drivers, increase access to web-based information and training materials among professionals, and support appropriate reporting of impaired drivers for further evaluation. This focus allows older drivers to stay on the roads as long as safely possible and will help open the door for discussions on driving retirement.

MU Trulaske College of Business Risk Management and Insurance Program

Investment from State Farm helped launch the Trulaske College of Business Risk Management and Insurance program in 2015. This support has allowed the program to hire a director, design and implement a curriculum that will prepare students for this important field, and market this new course of study to Mizzou students interested in risk management. This year, State Farm has given $25,000 to continue support of this program.

MU College of Human Environmental Sciences Office for Financial Success

This program works to enhance financial literacy throughout the Mizzou community by providing valuable financial counseling and resources. These resources include educational workshops, weekly financial tips, tax preparation and MU Extension programming across the state of Missouri. Services from the program include offering 1,500 students counseling to help create student debt repayment plans, counseling for more than 200 students so they stay in school and do not drop out due to financial reasons, and free tax preparation for more than 1,700 people from Columbia’s lower-income population. This year, State Farm has given $20,000 to support this program.

MU College of Human Environmental Sciences Family Impact Center

The MU Family Impact Center provides life-long education to improve the quality of life of individuals in the Columbia community. The center seeks to bring MU programs to central Columbia in order to reach unmet needs. The center provides resources and training including financial literacy training, behavioral health care through therapy and support groups and access to the Building Strong Families program, which is a research-based educational program that helps families identify and build on their strengths, face challenges and make informed choices. This year, State Farm has given $10,000 to support this program.

With an overall fundraising goal of $1.3 billion, the Mizzou: Our Time to Lead campaign will secure the University of Missouri’s status among the nation’s elite public universities by focusing on three priorities: endowment — building the university’s endowment to compete with other institutions will strengthen the ability to attract and retain stellar students and faculty; signature centers and institutes — interdisciplinary centers and institutes will be the engine of research growth that will enhance MU’s AAU status and add to the university’s distinctiveness; and a campus renaissance — new and renovated facilities will propel Mizzou to global leadership in education and research and will help attract and retain students and faculty.