One professor would not have made important advances in his career this semester without help from a man he has never met — Gordon Cain, a University benefactor who died Oct. 22 at age 90.
Cain, a University alumnus, died of heart failure after donating more than $20 million to the University during his lifetime.
Cain’s donations helped many professors such as Benjamin McCoy, a chemical engineering professor, who came to the University this fall as a Gordon and Mary Cain endowed professor.
“[Cain] was the leading individual benefactor of LSU,” said LSU Foundation Executive Director Cecil Phillips.
State funds matched most of Cain’s donations, geared mainly toward education and science departments, amounting to about $27 million, Phillips said.
Cain always said it was important to give back to the institution that helped start his career, Phillips said.
In 1998, Cain’s largest donation, $10 million, went toward advancements in the College of Engineering. The University later named the school the Gordon A. and Mary Cain Department of Chemical Engineering.
The donations, also the largest received by the college, funded five endowed chairs, five endowed professorships, $1 million in graduate student fellowships and $1 million toward the undergraduate laboratories.
Carl Knopf, chair of the Chemical Engineering Department, said after Cain donated to the Department of Chemical Engineering, he managed to visit the college to show his support even though health conditions made it difficult for him to travel.
Cain also donated a large sum of money to the Department of Education toward fellowships.
Established in 2000, The Gordon A. and Mary Cain Fellowships for Master of Education Degree and Teaching Certification aids education students working in the Holmes Program.
According to Dean Barbara Fuhrmann of Education, students in the Holmes Program are working toward their master’s degree during a 12 to 15 month period.
Students in the Holmes Program work so extensively on field-based assignments there is no room for a job.
“The support from Mr. Cain has literally made this program possible for students who otherwise could not support this full year beyond the bachelor’s degree,” Fuhrmann said.
Phillips described Cain as a remarkably brief man who was always to the point but continually courteous.
“He was an outstanding example of an alumnus who learned something at the University, applied it to his career and had the generosity to return his gains,” he said.
LSU Systems President William Jenkins said Cain’s gifts to the University often targeted the advancement of teaching and learning so the teachers produced would be well supported.
“Cain was an incredible talent and visionary,” Jenkins said. “Also, in the business world, he was a very successful and calculated risk taker.”
Cain, who graduated from LSU in 1933 with a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering, made most of his money through the purchasing and selling mainly of chemical companies.
Chancellor Mark Emmert said Cain’s hard-nosed outlook on business rolled over into collaborations with the University.
“Cain didn’t just pass out money, he wanted to make sure that there would be a clear return on his investments,” Emmert said.
Emmert said it was clear the University was important to Cain.
“He was a trendsetter and he let others know how important it was to be philanthropic and give back to the University,” Emmert said.