Ensuring Momentum for the Future

After 41 years at Sacramento State, Carole Barnes' ties to the University run deep. As a Sociology professor, she watched generations of students graduate into successful careers and forged lasting relationships with colleagues across the campus.

Sacramento State also provided the opportunity for Carole to develop the Institute for Social Research, now in its 32nd year. This interdisciplinary Institute provides non-proprietary research to State and Federal agencies with the goal of improving programs and policies regionally and throughout the state.

With a bachelor's in music, Carole was naturally drawn to the School of Music's signature productions for the Sacramento community: The Festival of New American Music, the New Millennium Series and the Piano Series. Many faculty friends are regular supporters of these concerts, Carole observed. "During intermission, you can hear us in the Music Recital Hall's aisles saying: 'Can you believe we're hearing (this or that international music luminary) in our own Capistrano Hall?!'"

Reflecting on her decades-long connection to campus, Carole finds longevity has a few benefits. "One of those is seeing generations of mostly local students acquire skills through applied opportunities in research, teaching or performance and then move on into rewarding careers," Carole says. "Our graduates can be found in state agencies and private businesses, teaching music in public schools and universities, and conducting or playing in leading orchestras throughout the nation. We're their stepping-stone to a wider world."

The professional and personal rewards of service at a single institution led naturally to Carole's decision to include these university programs in her will.

Carole has established two funds at Sacramento State with her IRA's annual required minimum distribution—as she sees it, giving from her IRA today is "a down payment on the larger bequest to come." One, the Sandie Sutherland Graduate Research Fellowship, funds a half-time position for a Social Science graduate student at the Institute for Social Research, and the other, the School of Music Visiting Artists and Ensembles Endowed Fund, supports the three-concert series for the Sacramento Region.

Carole's reason for linking her IRA giving today to her future gift in her will? "Good programs need the funds now to ensure their momentum into the future."

If you are interested in learning more about including a gift to Sacramento State in your future plans or giving from your IRA, please contact Steven Loya at loya@csus.edu or (916) 278-6115.