Micron CEO Steve Appleton was a graduate, benefactor and protector of Boise State

MICRON’S HELP FOR BOISE STATE

2011: $13 million to help launch a doctoral program in materials science and engineering.

2007: $12.5 million to help build the new Micron Business School at University Drive and Capitol Boulevard. The $28 million complex is slated to open this fall.

2006: $5 million to develop its new Ph.D. program in electrical and computer engineering.

2005: $320,000 to help develop the doctoral program in electrical and computer engineering.

2004: Donated lab equipment used to investigate new engineering materials.

2003: $2 million to start a materials science and engineering undergraduate program at BSU.

2001: $2 million to build the Appleton Tennis Center.

2000: Micron was among seven companies that donated $2.25 million worth of equipment and supplies to develop the Idaho Microfabrication Laboratory on campus.

1996: $6 million challenge to construct new engineering buildings if the university could get matching funds from other donors within three years. BSU exceeded the match in two years.

Steve Appleton was a product of Boise State University.

And Boise State is, in large part, a product of Steve Appleton and Micron.

Boise State’s two largest-ever donations came from the Micron Foundation — $13 million in 2011 to help launch a doctoral program in materials science and engineering and $12.5 million in 2007 to help build the new Micron Business School now under construction at University Drive and Capitol Boulevard.

Appleton, a 1982 grad, never forgot his alma mater, said President Bob Kustra.

Appleton, who attended Boise State in part on a tennis scholarship, built the $2 million Appleton Tennis Center at BSU in 2001.

“Boise State lost one of its own today,” Kustra said Friday. “He played a critical role in transforming Boise State into a research university serving the tech economy of Idaho.

“He really knew how to give back to his community.”

Appleton was very protective of the school’s image, Kustra said. “There is no fiercer Bronco than Steve Appleton.”

ATHLETICS AND MORE

“He really became ... more and more involved and cared about where the school was going,” said Boise State tennis coach Greg Patton.

“He would bring my team over to Micron and show them around. Do a personal tour. They would sit with him and talk to him and ask him questions, how did he get to where he was. All the time and effort, surrounded himself with smart, successful people. He strove for excellence,” Patton said.

ACTIVE FUNDRAISER

Appleton served as co-chairman of Boise State’s most recent comprehensive fundraising campaign, which raised $185 million for scholarships, programs and buildings. He was a Boise State Foundation board member from 1995 to 2002 and a lifetime Chaffee Guild member.

He was instrumental in the development of Boise State’s College of Engineering, which offered its first classes in 1996 and supported both the College of Business and Economics and the College of Engineering.

STRIVING FOR EXCELLENCE

Kustra said he met Appleton shortly after he took the helm at Boise State in 2004. Over the years, they became friends.

“It became very clear to me he was a guy who strove for excellence in everything he did. He was not about doing an OK job, but about doing the very best. It took a few years for us to work with Steve and convince him we were taking this university in a way that he would be proud,” Kustra said.

Kustra said Appleton wasn’t interested in putting his name on buildings.

“To him it was always about the company,” Kustra said. “He felt strongly that’s where the focus and the emphasis should be.”

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428