A giant in Arizona's housing industry is making a giant wager on science and technology becoming vital to the state's economy.

On Oct. 2, Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) announced a $25-million donation from the Stardust Charitable Fund, the philanthropic venture of Scottsdale developer Jerry Bisgrove. The private-sector gift will trigger a matching appropriation from the Arizona Legislature, providing SFAz the support to sustain its grantmaking through 2008.

SFAz officials and several of the foundation's supporters, including Gov. Janet Napolitano and State Senate President Tim Bee, announced the donation in west Phoenix at Carl T. Smith Middle School, one of the beneficiaries of SFAz's K-12 Student and Teacher Discovery grants, which have totaled $3.2 million statewide in 2007.

"We are enormously appreciative of Jerry Bisgrove that he came up with the match," said Don Budinger, chair of the SFAz board of directors, in the Arizona Republic.

Bisgrove chairs the Stardust Cos., which includes Stardust Development, one of the state's largest residential real-estate developers. That company provides the economic clout for Bisgrove's philanthropic giving, which has topped $60 million since 1992.

SFAz was born out of combined efforts and contributions of the state's three regional business leadership groups—Greater Phoenix Leadership, Southern Arizona Leadership Council, and Flagstaff 40—and the Legislature, and most of its grants go to public-private collaborations. Likewise, it is required to secure private-sector dollars in order to receive funding from the Legislature.

"Science Foundation Arizona was created to catalyze a new operating model for government, industry and education to effectively work together and propel Arizona into a 21st century rooted in innovation and discovery," Napolitano said.

"We can no longer be reliant on one dominant industry to fuel our economy, which Stardust Chairman and CEO Jerry Bisgrove understands. His personal commitment will be transformative for our state," she added.

Earlier this year, Napolitano signed HB 2786, which directed $100 million over four years to support SFAz, assuming SFAz could line up matching money from private donors. The Stardust grant covers SFAz for fiscal year 2008. A $50-million commitment from the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust counted as the match to the Legislature's initial appropriation of $35 million, authorized in 2006.

"By leveraging public and private contributions, we will be able to work together to create a synergy that accelerates advances in research and technology, helps cultivate a pool of knowledge workers at our three state universities and brings higher paying jobs to our state," Bisgrove said.

"Our intention is to broaden the base of contributors for the next year," Budinger said in the Republic. "We think that is healthy, and that is something that the Legislature recommended."

SFAz's mission is to build and strengthen scientific, engineering, and medical-research programs and infrastructure in areas of greatest strategic value to Arizona's competitiveness in the global economy. Through its several grant program areas, it intends to invest in the entire education pipeline, partnerships between non-profit research institutions and industry, and other science and math programs to help Arizona create a knowledge-driven economy.

SFAz's president and CEO, William Harris, noted the impact that SFAz is already having on grant recipients. "Although it's early, we are already seeing a return on these investments," he said. "It's important to create and sustain a competitive economic advantage for Arizona so we can retain and attract the best and brightest minds to lead us into a new global economy."

Harris pointed to the Smith Middle School students who are participating in a robotics competition that is part of the $525,000 For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology grant from SFAz.

"You're going to discover things that we don't even know now," he told the students, according to the Business Journal of Phoenix. "And it is going to come out of this school."

Bisgrove's grant comes at a critical juncture for SFAz. State officials are projecting as much as a $600 million budget shortfall, largely due to a weaker housing market in Arizona. To close the gap, the Legislature will likely re-examine even funding priorities like SFAz that have previously been promised multi-year support.

Napolitano said that maintaining support for SFAz was in Arizona's long-term interest, and that the state would benefit from an economy less dependent on the housing industry. "Arizona is more than bricks and mortar. It's brains. That's ultimately what this is about," she said in the Republic.

"We can't afford not to do it," she continued. "We have to become an economy that is more knowledge-based and diverse."

Bee, a Tucson Republican, said at the announcement that he was not inclined to support cutting future state funding for SFAz. "Our state cannot be competitive on a global scale without investments like this," he said in the Republic.

"We have many innovative assets in Arizona already," Bee said. "Science Foundation Arizona embraces those strengths and pursues promising opportunities for our state, including research in sustainability, advanced communications and technology, and biotechnology."

Rep. Russell Pearce, a Mesa Republican who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, told the East Valley Tribune that the Stardust grant was a "disappointing" development. "When you don't have money, you certainly can't fund those kinds of things," he said. "When you're talking about cutting critical services, that's bad timing."

Bisgrove said that he sees SFAz as a means to bring together the diverse research and development initiatives underway throughout the state. "This investment is about the people of Arizona and our future, and I feel very blessed to be able to give back to the community that I love," he said.

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For more information:

"$25 million gift will boost state science efforts," The Arizona Republic, 10/03/2007

"Governor, GOP back research spending," East Valley Tribune, 10/03/2007

"Science Foundation receives $25 million private match to state funds," The Business Journal of Phoenix, 10/03/2007

Science Foundation Arizona news release, 10/02/2007