Investing in the Future

Richard Spies, a 1975 chemical engineering graduate, spent his life dropping pinpoints along the U.S. map as his family’s involvement with the U.S. Air Force moved them from Chicago, where Spies was born; to California; then Arkansas; then Alabama; then north to Michigan; and then finally Louisiana, where he and his family settled in Bossier City. The relative proximity to LSU during his high school years allowed Spies to become acquainted and comfortable with the university campus—and the possibilities it offered him.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from the LSU College of Engineering, Spies started his career with Amoco Corporation, then one of the largest producers of petroleum products in the U.S. The experience included international travel; especially memorable destinations for him are Argentina and Russia.

Before Spies retired, he reflected upon his life experiences and how he wanted to deepen his philanthropic commitment to provide similar experiences for others for decades to come. In doing so, he knew his plans would involve honoring the roots he set in Baton Rouge during his time at LSU, which he’d long supported through annual gifts. Around retirement, he felt he was at a point in his life that he could make an elevated contribution and recalled his first major gift to LSU: a named space in Patrick F. Taylor Hall, home to the College of Engineering. Spies shared, “I enjoyed that. I enjoyed seeing that I could make a difference in helping LSU prepare itself to teach students into the future. So having that feeling, I was searching for a way to build on that.”

“As I thought about leaving a legacy gift, or a gift from my estate, I tried to think about what I wanted it to go toward,” Spies shared.

He explained his decision to leave an unrestricted gift, which affords leaders flexibility to respond to immediate and emerging needs and opportunities. “I can’t really predict the future needs. Leave it to the people who will be running the college at the time and let them put the money to work—where they see the biggest need—and not pretend that I can predict what that need will be.”

Spies’ generosity marks the largest unrestricted gift commitment a donor has made to the LSU College of Engineering. He further explained his perspective on making an unrestricted gift, saying, “If the greatest need of the College of Engineering is to give scholarship support to attract people who otherwise might not be able to attend LSU, I think that's important. If they need to use the funds to support the attraction of professors to improve teaching at LSU, I think that's incredibly important. If the money is needed to provide laboratory materials, well that's really important, too. I trust that LSU will have people running the college who will be capable of understanding the needs, and what needs to be done at the time. I’m trying to help those people.”

Like Richard Spies, you can create a gift that elevates academic excellence in the area of LSU that is most meaningful to you. To learn more, explore the materials included on this site and reach out to Krista Allen Raney at 225-578-4518 or kallen@lsufoundation.org at your convenience if you’d like to discuss your personal plans and giving opportunities.