Current News

$18,317,158 contributed by the Foundation to the University for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025. Highlights of the Foundation’s contributions are:

• $1,258,637 supporting more than 120 scholarships;
• $3,735,326 for faculty support, including 38 professorships;
• $13,323,195 for academic programs including:
  • $469,450 for USA Foundation Research Fellows/graduate assistant support;
  • $356,792 for the new Sylvestre Graduate Student Support Fund;
  • $4,339,000 for the 2^nd year of funding for the Elekta Unity Vault Project in the Mitchell Cancer Institute;
  • $1,385,822 for support of the clinical faculty in the Whiddon College of Medicine;
  • $814,350 for hospital equipment;
  • $3,539,600 for the Whiddon College of Medicine contribution;
  • $1,261,000 for a revolutionary non-invasive technology to target tumors, the HistoSonics Edison Histotripsy System; and
  • $250,000 for the Jaguar Marching Band program to fund the Band Rehearsal Hall.

(Please see Detail 2025 for the complete listing.)

Total contributions toward the $30 Million commitment for the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine are $28,230,200, with the final annual contribution of $1,769,800 to be distributed in fiscal year 2026.  With that contribution, the Foundation will have fulfilled its commitment for the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine of $30 Million.

As of June 30, 2025:

• Net assets were $468,874,000.
• Timber investments were $179,128,000.
• Marketable securities (equities) were valued at $276,295,000.
• Other assets were $13,451,000.
• Management and general expenses were 0.67% of net assets, well below the average of 1-1.5% of net assets.

The Foundation Board approved the audited USA Foundation Consolidated Financial Statements and the Disproportionate Share Hospital Fund Combined Financial Statements for the years ended June 30, 2025 and 2024.  As in previous years, Deloitte, the Foundation’s auditor, provided an unqualified opinion.

The Foundation approved the distribution of up to $8,518,324 to the University from the Disproportionate Share Hospital Funds (DSH Funds), of which more than $1.4 Million will be for clinical support of the medical faculty, more than $800,000 for hospital equipment, and more than $4.3 Million for projects recommended by the University to support the Hospitals and clinics, plus $1,769,800, the final annual contribution toward the $30 Million commitment to the Whiddon College of Medicine.

Mr. J. Randle (Randy) McKinney of Orange Beach, Alabama, was elected to fill the unexpired Class III director position.  Mr. McKinney is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and an attorney and realtor in Baldwin County.  He has served on the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, the State Board of Education, and serves on the Orange Beach City Schools Board of Education.  Mr. McKinney will fill the position left vacant upon the death of Judge Otha Lee Biggs.

The Foundation Board adopted a resolution celebrating the life and service of James Hilton (Jim) Crosby, a board member who died on July 21, 2025.  Mr. John McMillan, President of the USA Foundation, and Ms. Maxey Roberts, Managing Director, presented the framed resolution to his sister, Ms. Bettigrey Crosby, and his son, Hilton Crosby. (Please see Resolution – James H. Crosby.)

The Foundation Board received reports on the equity (stock) investments and the timberland investment.

Ms. Roberts provided a report on the State of the Foundation, highlighting the fiscal year 2025 as an exceptional year with contributions of more than $18.3 Million to the University for scholarships, faculty support and academic programs. She reported that at June 30, 2025, the Foundation reached new milestones with an all-time high in net assets of $468,874,000, and a new record high in equity investments valued at $276,295,000, while timber continued its solid growth with a value of $179,128,000.  Major contributions to the University include the support for the Edison Histotripsy System, a non-invasive therapy for treatment of certain solid tumors, support of the Jaguar Marching Band, and the continuing use of the Aloe Bay property that had been gifted to the University for its Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences and related University programs.

President Bonner and Dr. Kent provided an update on the University, including continued growth in enrollment; an increase in the retention rate of students; additional housing through the purchase of an adjacent apartment complex; and new programs such as the MBA online program, as well as unprecedented growth of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences.  The Foundation Board viewed a video, “The USA Way,” which speaks to the present, past and future that is the University of South Alabama.

The Foundation Board members had an opportunity to tour the Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; the Arlene Mitchell Pediatric Intensive Care Unit; the Treehouse; the Pediatric Emergency Center; the Sensory Room; and the MRI suite.  Ms. Deborah Browning, Chief Executive Officer of USA Health Children’s and Women’s Hospital, and Dr. Allen Broome, Chief Operating Officer, provided an overview of the growth and development of the Hospital and the unique services that are provided to the children and women of this region through the Hospital.