$1 million donation to benefit students at BGSU

A $1 million gift will provide the University with private support for entrepreneurial studies, the intercollegiate golf program and an initiative to make values exploration part of every student’s experience.

The gift from Ronald R. Whitehouse, a 1967 graduate, and his wife, Carol Sue (Lee) Whitehouse, who also attended BGSU, was announced Friday (Feb. 20) during a donors luncheon at the Pelican Bay Club in Naples, Fla.

The retired couple now divides their time between homes in Harbor Springs, Mich., and Nokomis, Fla., but Sue grew up in Ottawa Hills, and Ron, a member of the BGSU Foundation Board of Directors, was raised in nearby Sylvania.

Longtime supporters of the University, they have designated that the funds support programs in keeping with what has played important roles in their own lives.

"The education and values developed during our BGSU undergraduate experience were major contributors to our entrepreneurial business success," Ron Whitehouse said. "We are extremely pleased that this gift will assist in providing even more opportunities for today's BGSU student."

The gift will be divided three ways.

The largest portion, $500,000, will be used to create the Ron and Sue Whitehouse Entrepreneurial Fund to support educational offerings related to entrepreneurship in the College of Business Administration.

A special feature of the college’s new minor degree program in entrepreneurship is that it is open to business and non-business majors alike. “This magnificent gift will provide opportunities for many of our students to turn passion into entrepreneurship,” according to Robert Edmister, dean of the college.

A second portion of the gift—$350,000—will support the Creason-Piper Endowed Scholarship in Golf and the intercollegiate golf program, the sport in which Ron Whitehouse participated as an undergraduate.

Thanking the couple for their continuing support, BGSU Athletic Director Paul Krebs said, “This is a huge benefit for the men’s golf program. While it is always meaningful to receive this kind of support for our athletic programs, it is particularly meaningful when that support is from former student athletes.”

The remaining $150,000 will create the Ron and Sue Whitehouse BG-Experience Fund to support the University’s values initiative. The initiative is designed to make critical thinking about values central to the undergraduate experience at BGSU, according to College of Arts & Sciences Dean Donald Nieman, who has been involved in the program since its inception.

“Ron and Sue Whitehouse’s gift will enable us to significantly enhance this exciting new program that has enormous potential to promote student success,” the dean noted.

“We are thrilled by the leadership support Ron and Sue are making to enhance these programs,” echoed BGSU President Sidney Ribeau. “The support is indicative of the values Ron and Sue hold.”

Ron Whitehouse has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University and an MBA from the University of Toledo. A former president and CEO of HQ Chicago Inc. and chairman of the board of HQ Network Systems Inc., a San Francisco-based nationwide developer of executive business centers, he has been retired since 1998.