SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Dr. Raymond and Barbara Schmidgall of Lansing, Mich., recently agreed to create a $500,000 endowed chair for the Evangel University Department of Business.
“We have benefited greatly from our own education at Evangel, as well as from the education of our four daughters,” Dr. Schmidgall said. “God has blessed our lives beyond our expectations, and we are eager to find meaningful ways to share those blessings with others at Evangel.”
Schmidgall is the Hilton Hotels Professor of Hospitality Financial Management at Michigan State University’s School of Hospitality Business.
He has authored or co-authored several books related to hospitality accounting and finance, and he is recognized nationally as an industry expert. The seventh edition of his Managerial Accounting for the Hospitality Industry was released in 2010.
Schmidgall serves on key committees for two professional associations in the industry — the Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals, as well as the American Hotel & Lodging Association. He frequently conducts managerial accounting seminars for various associations representing the hospitality industry.
Deep ties to Evangel
Ray is a 1967 graduate of Evangel. He met Barbara while they were both students there, and all four of their daughters are now graduates — Erica ’95, Monica ’96, Kristina ’03, and Joanna ’05.
Erica and her husband, Dr. Jeremy Harris, are professors in Evangel’s Department of Science and Technology.
Ray also serves on the Evangel University Board of Directors.
“We are deeply grateful for the Schmidgalls’ commitment to Evangel, for Ray’s service on our board, and for this very generous gift to our endowment fund,” said President Robert H. Spence. “Ray and Barbara are excellent role models, as alumni and as parents. We pray that what they have done, and continue to do, will be an inspiration to other alumni and friends of the University.”
The funding process
After five years, the investment earnings from the Schmidgall Endowed Chair for Business Excellence will be used to recognize a distinguished leader and professor in the Department of Business. The endowment will provide funds to the endowed chair holder to support activities and programs that enhance leadership, teaching, faculty development, scholarly pursuit and professional service.
The Schmidgalls’ will also be providing the department with a direct financial contribution in each of the next five years to promote faculty and program development while the endowed chair account is being funded.
“Ray and Barb’s gift is an extremely thoughtful way to express confidence in and to continually enhance what we are doing in the Department of Business,” said Bernie Dana, department chair. “Ray has been a major influence on our department for many years.”
The business department has three delivery modes
• Traditional programs — Evangel’s Department of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with majors in accounting, business education, finance, management, marketing, and nonprofit business & social enterprise.
• Degree Completion — In addition, adult students with 60 or more college credits can earn a Bachelor of Science in Management degree by taking night courses in either a seated or online format.
• Master’s Degree — The Department of Business also offers a Master of Organizational Leadership in seated or hybrid format with a focus on leading organizations to performance excellence.
Evangel University is a private, Christian university that offers more than 100 undergraduate academic programs and nine master’s programs. Evangel serves more than 2,000 students from all 50 states and abroad. For additional information, visit www.evangel.edu.