SDSU celebrates former faculty member donor's half-century of support

The year Nixon met Elvis and the first Earth Day was celebrated across the nation, Nancy Carmichael Stewart, then a faculty member in the botany department at San Diego State, gave $15 to the annual fund. It was 1970, and Stewart’s gift was the equivalent of more than $120 today.

What’s most notable, however, is that she’s been giving to SDSU ever since: to sciences, athletics, and a dozen other areas.

This longtime support ― which isn't over ― places Stewart in the rarefied, uppermost layer of the “SDSU Loyal” community, celebrated every year at a special dinner honoring their dedication over two, three and four decades. Or in Stewart’s case, more than half a century and counting: “as loyal as they come” in the words of a grateful dean.

“I’ve always loved San Diego State from the moment I walked on campus,” Stewart said in a chat at the Alumni Center just two days after she and more than 100 other SDSU Loyal donors were honored there by President Adela de la Torre. “I was so happy to get a job here.”

Today, state funding and student tuition don’t come close to covering the university’s budget, so private funding is a vital form of support. The SDSU Loyal community is made up of approximately 4,400 individuals whose lifetime giving exceeds $419 million.

The Columbia University graduate started teaching at what was then San Diego State College in 1968 following a successful job interview she remembers mostly for her regrettable choice to show up “dressed in my New York finest, which in those days was a black sheath.” 

It started an affection that never wore off. 

In 1970 “there was no history here of having fundraisers or anything else,” said Stewart, who retired in 1995. Sports programs might have fundraising dinners, she said, “but there was nothing really in sciences.”

Stewart at one point had a streak of 29 consecutive years of giving. As a botany instructor, she once earmarked her gift for the Mediterranean Garden. Athletics, too, having attended football games both at “that rocky place over there” (Aztec Bowl) and the city stadium in Mission Valley, and basketball games in Peterson Gymnasium.

She remembers donations for a memorial scholarship in gerontology and undergraduate social work majors, the performing arts, and the library. She is also an SDSU Alumni Lifetime Member even though she’s not an alumna (it’s allowed).

During her time at the university she met and married a chemistry professor, Charles “Jack” Stewart, who also was an alumnus. Following his death in 2023 she made a $50,000 gift to establish the Charles J. Stewart Fellowship Award in Biochemistry Endowment from the remainder of his IRA, supporting an ongoing scholarship for graduate students in biochemistry.

“Nancy is as SDSU Loyal as they come,” said Jeffrey Roberts, dean of the College of Sciences and a chemistry professor. “Her gifts have made a difference across campus."

"I so admire Nancy for her high spirits, optimism, and love for SDSU,” Roberts added. “It's because of donors like Nancy Stewart that I know our institution will continue on its spectacular trajectory." 

Learn more about SDSU Loyal. To make a gift to SDSU, please contact Mary Darling, [email protected], or 619-665-2879.