January 6, 2004

Brandt Foundation Creates Professorship At Boise State University

The John and Orah Brandt Foundation announced a $40,000 annual donation to the Boise State University College of Business and Economics today, creating Boise State's first named professorship for a tenure track faculty member. The Brandt Professor of Free Enterprise Capitalism was the vision of native Nampa resident John Brandt, who died in 1999. His wife, Orah Brandt, died in 1982. The $40,000 annual contribution will help fund Charlotte Twight’s position as an economics professor at Boise State and bring in each year a nationally known speaker who supports the market systems, private ownership of property and less government. “Charlotte Twight is perfect as our first Brandt professor because she is an author, a noted scholar and her philosophies are very much in line with those of my dad,” said Don Brandt, who oversees the trust set up by his parents. Twight has been with Boise State since 1986. She earned her doctorate in economics from the University of Washington, along with a law degree. She has published two books. Her most recent, “Dependent on D.C.: The rise of federal control over the lives of ordinary Americans,” was published in 2002 and has been featured on numerous talk shows. In addition, she has written numerous articles that have been published in academic journals. “I am honored to be associated with the Brandt foundation and to be able to continue my research with their support,” Twight said. John Brandt was 94 at the time of his death. He began Brandt Agency Real Estate and Insurance in 1937 in Nampa. He served 18 years on the Nampa School Board and 10 years on the Snake River Stampede Board of Directors. He was a founding member of the Nampa Industrial Corp., a member of the Lions Club since 1937 and a member of the Nampa Board of Realtors and Nampa Chamber of Commerce. Brandt also helped form the Idaho Real Estate Commission. He was a generous benefactor for community projects. John Brandt’s trust also helped build the Brandt Fine Arts Center on the Northwest Nazarene University campus in Nampa and the Brandt Auditorium in the Nampa Civic Center. -30- Contact Bill Lathen Dean, Boise State College of Business and Economics 426-1125 Don Brandt John and Orah Brandt Foundation 466-7821 Media Contact Sherry Squires Boise State communications and marketing 426-1563