![\"\"](\"\/images\/univ_relations\/WingsRoots.jpg\")
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In a culminating press conference on the east steps of Kent Wyatt Hall, Delta State University announced the conclusion of its highly-successful, five-year \u201cWings & Roots: Let our Legacy Soar\u201d fundraising campaign. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> Amidst confetti cannons, cheerleaders and a band, a banner detailing the final tally was unfurled to reveal $37,025,042, an amount that tripled the campaign\u2019s initial goal. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> The \u201cWings & Roots\u201d campaign, which began in January 2000 and ended in September 2005, stands as the largest collection of private support in the history of Delta State University. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> Campaign chair Ned Mitchell, of the campaign offered, \u201cThis is an extremely proud moment for Delta State University. It\u2019s dynamic, uplifting. This campaign has created synergy that lays the foundation for so much future success.\u201d<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> The support provided as a result of \u201cWings & Roots\u201d <\/I>is already being utilized to fund scholarships, faculty <\/I>development, athletics, and other campus <\/I>priorities. By just examining a handful of the projects <\/I>funded to date illustrates the far-reaching <\/I>benefits being realized: <\/I>$2.4 million in new scholarship money for <\/I>endowed and annual scholarships; creation of the Hazel and Jimmy Sanders <\/I>Sculpture Garden at the Bologna <\/I>Performing Arts Center; inception of the Delta Music Institute and the initiation of two federally-supported <\/I>programs, the Delta Health Alliance and <\/I>the Delta Education Initiative.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> Delta State\u2019s seventh president, Dr. John M. Hilpert, who came to the University during the third year of the campaign, said, \u201cRemarkable. That is the word that keeps going through my head \u2013 remarkable. \u201cWings & Roots\u201d started out as a concept and nothing more. When I arrived in 2003, the original goal had already been quickly passed, so the question became why not make a good thing even more of a good thing?\u201d<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> That \u201cgood thing\u201d was made possible, in part, because of Delta State faculty and staff donations, and as such, Elsie Lynn Ervin, current chair of Staff Council, and Debbie Allen, current chair of Faculty Senate, presented Hilpert with a check totaling $292,457. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> Today\u2019s press conference stood as the commencement activity for an entire slate of Homecoming weekend festivities. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P> Proposed Cut Line: Dr. John Hilpert, left, looks on as a banner unveiling the final tally to Delta State University “Wings & Roots” campaign is unfurled. <\/P><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/FONT><\/FONT> <\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a culminating press conference on the east steps of Kent Wyatt Hall, Delta State University announced the conclusion of its highly-successful, five-year \u201cWings & Roots: Let our Legacy Soar\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40515,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86\/revisions\/40515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}