EIU applauds recent gift from Willow Springs Charitable Trust
Sep-24-2019Family foundation has contributed nearly $700K to support Eastern’s accounting program
[CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR: MORGAN AUSTIN]
(Charleston, IL) – Eastern Illinois University will once again benefit from a recent gift offered to the university by the Willow Springs Charitable Trust Foundation.
Last week, Greg Andresen visited EIU’s Charleston campus to give EIU leaders a ceremonial check for $45,000. Those funds will provide additional support for Eastern’s world-class accounting program. Andresen is the Chair of the Alumni Outreach Committee of Eastern’s Accountancy Advisory Board, as well as a trustee of the Willow Springs foundation.
“Eastern Illinois University is incredibly lucky to have the ongoing support of Willow Springs Charitable Trust,” said EIU President Dr. David Glassman, who was on hand to accept the check and to thank the foundation for their commitment to EIU. “In addition to the obvious financial assistance this will provide our accounting program, gifts from Willow Springs and others help to underscore the trust and confidence EIU has built amongst our partners and friends, and truly reinforces the critical role Eastern Illinois University plays in educating future generations of leaders, employees, and neighbors.”
With this most recent gift, the Willow Springs Charitable Trust Foundation has donated more than $689,000 to support EIU since 2000. The funds have helped to subsidize costs associated with the accounting program’s reaccreditation efforts, as well as a variety of other activities across campus, such as faculty development, recruitment initiatives, and outreach and development.
As a member of the advisory board, Andresen has helped with EIU’s accounting program’s accreditation efforts since 1997, and will continue his service to EIU in that capacity through 2019-20. He graduated from EIU in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, and again in 1973 with an M.B.A. He recently retired from the Chicago accounting firm Plante Moran, where he also worked to recruit fellow EIU accounting graduates.
The Willow Springs Foundation was established in 1995 to further projects in the Arts and Education. Andresen was the CPA and tax advisor who assisted the family in charting a path to fulfill its charitable mission.
For more information about EIU, or to learn more about its growing assortment of programs and services, visit the university’s website at www.eiu.edu, or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.
PHOTO CAPTION: On hand to celebrate the Willow Springs Charitable Trust Foundation’s recent $45,000 gift to EIU include (from left) Dean of the Lumpkin College of Business and Technology Dr. Austin Cheney, Chair of EIU’s School of Business Dr. John Willems, Director of EIU’s Accounting Program Dr. Nicholas Robinson, EIU Accounting and MBA alumnus and Willow Springs trustee Greg Andresen, EIU President Dr. David Glassman, EIU Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Dr. Jay Gatrell, and EIU Vice President for University Advancement Dr. Ken Wetstein.
