Alumni establish endowment to support WSU organic farm for years to come
For more than two decades, Washington State University’s Eggert Family Organic Farm has served as a learning and research facility for students and faculty. It’s also a place where locals and visitors alike can buy vegetables, pick cherries, or search for the perfect pumpkin.
A new $150,000 endowment from WSU alumni Jim Huff and Sue Fairbanks will ensure the farm continues to thrive and grow well into the future.
“We are deeply appreciative of Sue and Jim’s gift and humbled by their generosity,” said Raj Khosla, Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean of WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. “This endowment will support future generations of students, ensuring they can continue to learn and gain valuable firsthand experience with organic agriculture practices.”
At the couple’s request, the interest generated by the endowment will be used at the farm’s discretion, said farm manager Brad Jaeckel. The funds will primarily support educational experiences for students, including paid internships. It will also help cover staff and equipment costs. Previous donations from the couple have helped support similar needs.
“We’re excited for the support the endowment will provide,” Jaeckel said. “It will allow us to stay on track with our current projects and support our mission as a teaching farm by providing student research opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.”
For Huff and Fairbanks, organic agriculture has been a way of life since childhood. Huff, who was born in Oklahoma and raised in Tacoma, Washington, watched his parents grow the family’s food organically. Fairbanks had a similar experience during her childhood in Seattle.
“Organic farming wasn’t something we really discussed; that’s just the way my father gardened,” she said. “But it likely impacted me in terms of thinking organically.”
Today, the Austin, Texas-based couple regularly visits their local farmers market to purchase organic produce.
“I believe organic farms are critical to the health of the world’s population,” Fairbanks said. “After surviving cancer, I began thinking more deeply about my own health and where my food comes from.”
Huff and Fairbanks became friends in 1958 while working at WSU’s on-campus bowling alley. After graduating in 1960 (Huff with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and Fairbanks a bachelor’s degree in home economics), they went their separate ways. In 2010, Huff, then widowed, decided to reach out to Fairbanks after receiving her email address at a WSU 50-year class reunion. The two began corresponding through emails and phone calls, eventually deciding to meet in person. Their friendship blossomed into something more, and they’ve now been married for nearly 14 years.
After reading about the farm in a Washington State Magazine article, Huff and Fairbanks toured it multiple times, including a visit during their 60-year class reunion.
“I was highly impressed when I visited the farm,” Huff said. “And it has so much potential for future growth. Our endowment will support that by promoting student involvement, encouraging opportunities for research, and providing organic farming resources to the greater community.”
A first-generation graduate who worked his way through college, Huff is a firm believer in student employment opportunities. The endowment will help provide paid jobs and internships for students in similar situations.
“We want to help however we can,” Huff said. “With higher education currently facing funding challenges, private donations are key to supporting the continued exploration of possibilities in the organic field.”
Fairbanks agrees.
“I hope the endowment will inspire increased interest in organic agriculture and encourage people to think more deeply about where their food comes from,” she said.
John Reganold, a Regents Professor Emeritus in WSU’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, was instrumental in establishing both the farm and the organic and sustainable agriculture major. He noted that the farm offers a critical resource for those with no agriculture experience.
“Students, especially those who don’t come from an agricultural background, get to see a farm in operation and learn firsthand about seed planting, growing food, harvesting plants, and selling produce,” he said.
Reganold has worked closely with the couple to ensure their vision for the donation is realized.
“Sue and Jim are lovely people,” he said. “Thanks to their philanthropy, other supporters will have an opportunity to donate to the endowment and help it grow. That’s very exciting — the larger the endowment, the more interest it will generate in support of the farm.”
The gift is also a way for the couple to honor a place that is near and dear to their hearts.
“We hope the endowment will benefit many future generations,” Huff said. “Sue and I feel very strongly about giving back, and this is one way for us to do so in the community where we spent part of our youth.”
How you can help:
If you would like to learn more about supporting WSU’s Eggert Family Organic Farm, please call 509-335-2243 or email WSUF.CAHNRS.Development.Team@wsu.edu. You can also donate online.