Colorado State on Sept. 23 announced a $2.5 million gift to the College of Business - the college's largest ever - from two of Fort Collins' most prominent business and civic leaders.

The university honored the Everitt family and the Everitt Companies in a ceremony dedicating the Everitt Real Estate Center in the College of Business. The Everitts are longtime contributors to the real estate community in Fort Collins and the university.

"Bob and Joyce have been such wonderful supporters of the university and the College of Business," said President Larry Edward Penley. "This gift directly supports our goal to set the standard in teaching, research, service and extension for the benefit of Colorado, the United States and the world. We are thrilled to be able to honor the Everitts in this way."

The Everitt family has contributed a total of $2.5 million to the College of Business: $2.4 million for the real estate center and $100,000 for the dean's leadership education initiatives for business students.

The Everitts and their associates have given generously to Colorado State, including major gifts to the Morgan Library Campaign, the McGraw Athletic Center, the College of Business and the B.W. Pickett Equine Center. In the past year, the Everitts joined with the Bohemian Foundation, Monfort Family Foundation, Bryan and Axson Morgan and Thomas and Jean Sutherland to create the $1.5 million William E. Morgan Endowed Chair in Liberal Arts.

In May, the university honored Everitt with an honorary doctoral degree in recognition of his exceptional contributions in industry and community service.

Bob Everitt owns the Everitt Companies, a private residential and commercial real estate development company that has been a fixture in Fort Collins for 52 years. The Everitt Companies developed the Foothills Mall, Colorado State's Center for Advanced Technology, the Oakridge Business Park and thousands of lots in business parks and residential subdivisions in Northern Colorado.

"Supporting the university was very important to the Everitt family and Everitt Companies," Everitt said. "When we first moved here, the people at the university supported us in many ways - buying lumber, buying houses. The university was the foundation of the beginning of our business.

"There's nothing more important than having a good education for our children," he added. "And this university, in my opinion, provides as good an education as any university in the country. Fort Collins is a fabulous place to live, and if you really get down to what makes it that way, No. 1 on my list is Colorado State University."

Everitt's ties to the College of Business go back 35 years.

"Bob's experience in industry has proven extremely valuable to the College of Business, particularly with him advising us through the college's Global Leadership Council," said Ajay Menon, Dean of the College of Business. "Bob's selfless service to the community and to our institution also makes him a wonderful role model for our students."

The real estate center at Colorado State was established in 2000 within the Department of Finance and Real Estate and received its first support from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The center provides service, academic foundation, research, educational and employment opportunities for the community, faculty, staff and students. Tim Gallagher serves as department chairman.

"This gift allows us to continue to build a strong link between economic development and higher education," said Glenn Mueller, director of the Everitt Real Estate Center and the Loveland Commercial Endowed Chair of Real Estate. "Our students are lucky to be able to learn from an industry leader like Bob Everitt."

One of Everitt's more visible contributions to the college was his creation of the Summit Investment Fund - a program that allows students to invest real money in the stock market.

In 2003, he was named the first inductee into the real estate center's Real Estate Hall of Fame. The College of Business created the hall of fame as part of an outreach program to successful entrepreneurs in the real estate field with connections to Colorado State.

The gift from the Everitts is the second major gift the college has received in recent years. Among the largest are a $1.5 million gift from Eric Holsapple and Don Marostica, owners of Loveland Commercial LLC, who created the Loveland Commercial Endowed Chair of Real Estate in 2004, and a $1 million pledge from businessman Scott Jackson in support of the Dean's strategic initiatives.

Additionally, regional companies have committed to a variety of faculty fellowships totaling roughly $750,000, including the First Community Bank Service Learning Fellow, First Community Bank Faculty Fellow, McWhinney Enterprises Faculty Fellow, First Bank Professor of Business Administration, First Bank Research Fellow, First National Bank Research Fellow, Bartels and Company LLC Junior Research Fellow, EKS&H Professor of Business Administration, E&Y Accounting Fellow, Charles and Gwen Lillis Professor of Business Administration and fellowships from Everitt Companies and the Rick and Lori Allen Foundation.