K-State couple passionate about student success gives lead gift to Hale Library renovation.
Dave and Ellie Everitt, Marco Island, Florida, have given $3 million to Kansas State University Libraries.
This gift is the first major gift given toward the K-State Libraries’ first-floor renovation and modernization project. The renovation will create a more accessible entrance to the first floor. It will include group study spaces, instruction rooms, satellite meeting spaces for student services, exhibit space for special collections, a café and flexible event space. The project will also provide a home for the Center for the Advancement of Digital Scholarship and the Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative.
Ellie Everitt graduated from K-State in 1973 with a degree in clothing and textiles from the College of Human Ecology. Dave Everitt received his degree in industrial engineering from the College of Engineering in 1975. They are both KSU Foundation Trustees and serve on the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign steering committee. Dave is on the KSU Foundation Board of Directors. While they support both of their colleges, the Everitts enjoy investing in programs that positively affect the entire campus. When the KSU Foundation and K-State Libraries told them of the Hale Library renovation project, they jumped at the opportunity to make a difference.
“The K-State Libraries are an integral part of supporting research and helping K-State reach its 2025 goals,” said Dave. “This renovation will help the Libraries enhance their role by supporting collaboration and multidisciplinary studies. Another aspect of the project I like is the ability to showcase special collections that are in the library or that travel through the library. It’s a place people go to appreciate these historical and important documents.”
The Hale Library renovation project is estimated to cost $6.5 million, and the Everitts’ donation of $3 million goes a long way in making it a reality. “The Everitts’ gift is a profound affirmation of K-State Libraries’ value to the university, and we look forward to leveraging their generosity,” said Lori Goetsch, dean of K-State Libraries. “The reimagined Hale Library will more effectively provide students, faculty and researchers with diverse spaces that anticipate their needs and encourage their success.”
The Everitts are also passionate about supporting the Open/Alternative Textbook Initiative, which will be located in the renovated space. “Textbooks have become an enormous expense for students and are not cost-efficient,” said Ellie. “The digital textbook initiative helps create the ability for professors to keep information up to date and relevant to students’ area of study, and they save students money.”
Philanthropic contributions to K-State are coordinated by the Kansas State University Foundation. The foundation is leading Innovation and Inspiration: The Campaign for Kansas State University to raise $1.4 billion for student success, faculty development, facility enhancement and programmatic success.
