Former student body president Jeremy Lao and vice president Emily Chin made a report to the Board of Trustees during their meeting Thursday, where they presented a plan for a $1 million programming endowment.Under the proposal, the endowment would be expected to generate about $50,000 a year, which would be used to fund big-ticket concerts, speakers and other events. Chin said the trustees responded favorably to the idea."They really liked the endowment," she said. "They thought our students definitely needed it."Chin said the trustees directed student government officials to pursue their proposal through the Office of Student Affairs and vice president for student affairs Father Mark Poorman."They asked us to work with Father Poorman on setting up a formal campaign," Chin said.Chin acknowledged there was no firm commitment from the trustees to fund the endowment, but she remained optimistic that the board would eventually approve the plan."They were in full support of the idea," she said.Lao agreed, but said the project will take more time than was initially expected, as student leaders will integrate the endowment proposal into the University's strategic plan, entitled "Notre Dame 2010: Fulfilling the Promise.""It's going to be a longer-term project," Lao said. "The board would like to take the approach of creating an endowment that would align itself with the University's mission."Lao said a current sophomore or junior could see significant developments in the creation of an endowment.Lao, a rising senior, said he will work with new student body president Adam Istvan and vice president Karla Bell to push the endowment."I'm going to still be around next semester," Lao said. "Adam and Karla have already extended me an offer to keep working on this issue."He also raised the possibility of requesting more money from the board, saying that high-dollar events will require more funding."We want enough to bring in the really big names and the really big acts," Lao said. "We're going to need more."
