Vendla Berntson Fogelberg Aggie Family Scholarship Endowment
Vendla Berntson
First student body and faculty photo. April 1891
When the Agricultural College of Utah officially opened for classes in September 1890, a faculty of nine taught students in the only portion of Old Main that was completed at the time, the south wing. Among the 106 men and 33 women looking forward to the college experience was 14-year-old Vendla Berntson of Logan, who became the first of 139 students to enroll that fall at what would become Utah State University.
As public schools of the time generally only provided education through the eighth grade, Vendla’s age required her to register for preparatory classes her first year. Passing her examinations in 1893, Berntson began pursuing the Course in Domestic Arts, where she studied liberal arts and science, and took such practical classes as sewing, dietetics, designing, cooking, canning, fruits, fancy work, household management and dairy practice. While the early university emphasized the fields of mechanical and domestic arts, it exposed students to much more than agriculture and homemaking. Vendla, for instance, excelled in music, and from the institution’s inception, President Jeremiah Sanborn endeavored to lay a “foundation for broad and comprehensive reasoning,” which would “promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life.” Even with free tuition, Vendla and many of her peers lacked the resources to complete all four years of course work. The college experience, however, still positively affected her life. After teaching private piano lessons for several years, Vendla met and married fellow musician Wilhelm Fogelberg in 1900. They became well known in Logan musical circles until Vendla’s untimely death in 1924.
To honor Vendla, we invite you to join us in establishing the Vendla Berntson Fogelberg Aggie Family Scholarship Endowment. Income from the endowment will be used to support retention scholarships at Utah State University.
How to Give
Vendla Berntson Fogelberg Aggie Family Scholarship Endowment
Online:
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Mail:
Utah State University
Vendla Berntson Fogelberg Aggie Family Scholarship Endowment
1590 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-1590
Make checks payable to "Utah State University."
Phone:
1-888-653-6246
Stock or Wire Transfer:
Contact USU Gift Processing at 435-797-1320 or advgifts@usu.edu for instructions.
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Vendla along with her husband, Wilhelm established the Logan Conservatory of Music.
Additional Details:
- Your gift will be used only for the above-stated purpose if the required minimum endowment level of $25,000 is met by December 31, 2025. If not met, the gift will be considered expendable towards the stated purpose.
- The Endowment will exist in perpetuity. If circumstances arise that render the stated purpose of the Endowment (as set forth herein) illegal, impractical, impossible, or wasteful (e.g., a change in law, the elimination of a USU program, position, or course of study, the persistent unavailability of scholarship recipients that meet the criteria, etc.); then, as set forth in this Solicitation, under such circumstances and in keeping with Utah Code 51-8-501(1), USU may designate a new purpose and/or scholarship selection criteria for the Endowment. Any such new purpose shall be defined by USU’s President.
- The Endowment shall be deposited and invested by the Board of Trustees of USU, through the USU Investment Advisory Committee in accordance with USU’s investment policy. The USU Foundation is the legal entity designated by USU to receive charitable gifts in support of its academic mission.
- Distributions from the Endowment shall be governed by USU’s Endowment Spending Policy. The spending policy calls for an annual distribution up to 5% (currently set at 4%) of the value of the endowment account to be expended per the gift agreement. An additional 1.5% of the endowment value shall be used to fund the administration of the endowment and USU advancement efforts. All additional gains shall be retained as appreciation and invested along with the corpus to grow the value of the Endowment over time.
- By letter dated May 21, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service has declared the USU Foundation (federal tax identification number 87-0627128), to be a duly qualified charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) and also an organization described in sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is a duly chartered active Utah nonprofit corporation, under the provision of Utah Code, Title 16, Chapter 6a.