August 06, 2019

Delaney elected president of SIU Foundation

david-delaney-sm.jpgCARBONDALE, Ill. – David Delaney, a 1983 graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has been elected to a two-year term as chairman of the SIU Foundation.

He replaces Susie Rashid, a 1987 SIU accounting graduate, who now serves as the board’s immediate past president.

Former immediate past president Roger Tedrick, a 1970 political science graduate, continues on the foundation board as a representative of the SIU Board of Trustees. Matthew Solverson, a 1986 engineering graduate, is the foundation’s new president-elect.

Delaney, who studied agriculture at SIU, said the SIU Foundation plays an important role supporting the university.

“The foundation connects the passions of donors with the needs of the university,” he said. “The gifts of alumni and friends support scholarships for students, provides needed funding for facilities and laboratories, and enhance faculty teaching and research.”

The foundation is currently engaged in “Forever SIU: The Campaign for Students,” a three-year fundraising effort that achieved its $75 million goal seven months ahead of schedule. The campaign runs through December 2019.

“Private support enhances the public support that is so critical to SIU’s success,” Delaney said. “The foundation board is very grateful to the governor and our state legislators for increasing funding for higher education across the state – and especially SIU – this year. State funding gives donors confidence and motivates them to further invest in the university.”

Delaney, who has served on the foundation board since 2012, thanked recent foundation board presidents Rashid and Tedrick for their leadership.

“All members of the board are volunteers who believe in the power of donors to advance SIU,” he said. “Susie and Roger have been models for all of us in terms of their dedication and leadership.”

Delaney is currently chief commercial officer for Farmer’s Business Network, which serves nearly 8,000 members across more than 30 million acres of farmland across the U.S. and Canada. He is based in northern Illinois. He was formerly executive vice president and chief operating officer at PotashCorp, the world’s largest fertilizer company.

Rashid owns SWR LLC in Evanston, Illinois, and Tedrick is president of Tedrick Group Risk Management Solutions in Mount Vernon. Solverson is a director of R&D programs for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Marion.

The SIU Foundation is an independent, nonprofit corporation that exists solely to serve the educational, service and research missions of SIU Carbondale. As a designated 501(c)(3) organization, the foundation has approval from the Internal Revenue Service to issue tax-deductible receipts for private gifts received to support SIU.