AMES | A Belmond couples $2.5 million gift is establishing whats being called a national first-of-its-kind position at Iowa State University.

Lora and Russ Talbots donation is creating an endowed position for the Iowa State University Alumni Association. The gift was announced at an Alumni Association fundraiser Friday night.

The Talbots gift creates the first non-academic endowed position at Iowa State and establishes the first endowed alumni association president and CEO position at a college or university in the United States, according to a press release from the ISU Alumni Association.

Jeffery W. Johnson, the current president and CEO of the ISU Alumni Association, will be the first holder of the Lora and Russ Talbot Iowa State University Alumni Association Endowed President and Chief Executive Officer position.

We wanted to increase the visibility of the Alumni Association and to help in advancing and showcasing the Alumni Associations excellence, Lora Talbot said. We are dedicated to the goal of ensuring that the Alumni Association is the organization that makes a positive difference for alumni, students and friends for many years to come.

The endowment will allow the association to more visibly connect with and engage Iowa State alumni and friends, according to the press release.

Funds will support Johnsons professional development and a portion of his salary and travel expenses, as well as expanded programming initiatives within the Alumni Association. It will also establish a new Talbot Student Intern position for the organization.

The Talbots are well-known Iowa State philanthropists, even though neither of them went to school there.

Both now retired and living in Belmond, they previously lived in Ankeny where Russ Talbot was a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service and Lora Talbot was an executive officer for the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System.

In 1998 they established the Russell G. and Lora L. Talbot Scholars in Veterinary Medicine program, an endowed fund that provides a four-year scholarship to seven students each year.

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Belmond couple creates endowed position at ISU alumni group