The WTAMU Foundation is proud to recognize donors in an annual newsletter and annual report. Donors are recognized in six categories of support.
See all the memberships and giving levels at WTAMU.
Lead Donors
The Hayward Spirit Tower, a skyscraping timepiece that marks the north entrance to West Texas A&M University’s Pedestrian Mall, is both the brainchild and gift of Jack and Helene Hayward, who both hold advanced degrees from WTAMU. The landmark was dedicated in August 2008 and is electronically programmed to play the Hayward’s requested Westminster Chimes on the hour and the University Fight Song at noon each day. It stands taller than Old Main and the nearby four-story Classroom Center to make it a very visible presence on the WTAMU campus.
In December 2006, West Texas A&M University named its newest building the Sybil B. Harrington Fine Arts Complex after its most generous benefactor. The University had just received a $5 million gift from the Sybil B. Harrington Trust to support equipment and upgrades for the building in areas not provided for by traditional state funding. The late Mrs. Harrington was a major contributor to the University for many years before her death in 1998. No known benefactor has given more to the University since its inception in 1910. The Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation and the Sybil B. Harrington Trust have combined to give gifts to the University totaling more than $13 million.
The Bain Athletic Center is a three-phase project that serves as the centerpiece of the University’s Buffalo Sports Park. The facility is currently home to a 6,700 square foot locker room complete with lockers, showers, laundry facilities, equipment storage space and video screen for game-film reviews. When completed, the Bain Athletic Center will cover 31,000 square feet and will be one of the premier intercollegiate athletic complexes in the country. It will house an athletic training room, weight room, coaches’ offices, meeting space, team study hall and a Championship Atrium to honor WTAMU’s rich athletic history.The training center will provide WTAMU athletes with the latest in strength and conditioning equipment.
Construction will continue when 50 percent ($2 million) is deposited with the University and an additional 25 percent is received in pledges due through 2013.
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved the renaming of WTAMU’s varsity softball field in May of 2012. Stanley and Geneva Schaeffer are longtime supporters of WTAMU, and their gift of $200,000 to rename Lady Buff Yard to Schaeffer Park is just one of many gifts they have given to the University. The softball facility was completed in December of 2010 and houses ticket and concession buildings as well as a spacious press box with radio/television booths. The lighted field with its synthetic turf offers year-round play for the Lady Buffs, and fans have plenty of seating options—150 chair-back seats for season ticket holders and another 340 general admission seats.
The Stan Sigman family has given a $1 million gift to the University in memory of their grandmother, Oma Sigman, for the establishment of a Sigman Family Scholarship Fund. More than 70 years ago, Oma Sigman, a widow with nine children, owned and operated a boarding house across the street from the Joseph A. Hill Memorial Chapel on campus. She provided a home for many WT students through the years, and the gift reflects her giving spirit by supporting nine scholarships representative of each of her nine children. The scholarships will help WTAMU students in specific areas with room and board expenses.
The nine scholarships are:
Wilder ParkWilder Park, part of West Texas A&M University’s Buffalo Sports Park, is considered one of the best ballparks found in all of NCAA Division II. The lighted state-of-the-art facility provides year-round play for Buff baseball with its synthetic turf, and fans are assured of plenty of seating options with a crowd capacity of 490 in season ticket and general admission seats. Other amenities include ticket and concession buildings and a press box with radio/television booths. The park was named after David and Myrt Wilder of Plainview, longtime supporters of WTAMU, who donated $200,000 toward the construction of the baseball facility. They also have endowed the David and Myrt Wilder Scholarship Fund in WTAMU’s College of Business.
