1888 Society honors legacy givers

Jerry and Sandra Strange embraced philanthropy with matching endowed scholarships to advance engineering and business technology at NMSU and Doña Ana Community College, fulfilling their shared dream of a brighter
New Mexico. 

After Sandra Strange’s passing in 2020, Jerry Strange honored their commitment by naming NMSU as a beneficiary in his will, earning him a commemorative key to the university and membership in the prestigious 1888 Society. Receiving the key moved him. 

“Many scholarship recipients sent us letters, and I met five of them. Their stories reminded me of my own college journey,” he says. “I grew up in a coal-mining town in Appalachia where opportunities were scarce. A hardware store scholarship allowed me to attend a small junior college. That changed my life, and I want today’s students to have the same opportunity.”

Each fall during Homecoming weekend, the NMSU Foundation gathers an extraordinary group of individuals whose generosity fuels the university’s future: the 1888 Society. The annual luncheon is a celebration of visionaries committed to NMSU’s success through planned giving. Made through wills, trusts, life insurance, retirement plans and other means, these gifts create lasting opportunities for students, faculty and programs.

New members receive a key to the university, a pewter key shaped like the iconic NMSU gates that once stood at the foot of the Horseshoe. Each key, engraved with the donor’s name and displayed in a shadowbox, is a symbol of the lasting mark they leave on the university.

“Seeing the key is a reminder of our connection with NMSU and the cycle of giving in education,” Dr. Jim Elliott ’89 says. “NMSU is essential to the vitality of the state of New Mexico and its surrounding communities.”

Just as NMSU’s founders built a gateway to education, 1888 Society members are building pathways for future students. The impact of these planned gifts is the key to NMSU’s future.

Do you have an estate gift for NMSU, through your will, trust or insurance policy? Contact Steve Covington, executive director of estates and gift planning, at 575-201-9023, or email plannedgiving@nmsufoundation.org to explore this legacy opportunity and join the 1888 Society.