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CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) Valley City State University has received a .5 million dollar gift to the VCSU Foundation from the estate of Leonard and Marjorie (Dreis) Wright of Mukilteo, Washington.

President Steven Shirley says “we will be forever thankful to the Wrights for their outstanding generosity and their commitment to education.” He says their gift will keep on giving and touching the lives of future generations of students at VCSU.

Marjorie Wright is a native of Dazey, North Dakota, she graduated from Valley City State Teacher’s College and became a teacher.

She married Leonard Wright in 1945, and the couple moved to Alaska. Marjorie taught in Alaska before joining her husband’s business, Badger Construction, which prospered with work on construction projects associated with the Alaska oil pipeline. On Leonard Wright’s death in 2007, Marjorie moved to the state of Washington. She died at the age of 91 on April 7, 2013, in Mukilteo, Washington.

The Wrights’ gift to VCSU was facilitated in part through their connection with Phil Mueller a 1968 Valley City State graduate who serves on the Valley City State Foundation Board. Mueller, the nephew of Leonard Wright, spent several of his college summers working for the Wrights in Alaska and maintained contact with them throughout their lives.

VCSU executive director of university advancement Larry Robinson says the Wright’s foresight in making the arrangements for this generous gift to Valley City State shows they did not forget their North Dakota roots.