San Marcos Beverage Firm Gives $100,000 to New Campus

A San Marcos beverage distributor has pledged a $100,000 endowment to Cal State San Marcos University’s business program, the largest such donation to be made by a local firm, university officials said.

The Markstein Beverage Co. gift, to be paid in $10,000 installments over the next 10 years, will develop a scholarship fund for business students and an endowment for business faculty.

“It’s the biggest donation from a local firm, so we’re really pleased,” said university president Bill Stacy.

Ken Markstein, president of the company, already has personally donated $5,000 to the university.

“We hope to see Cal State San Marcos turn into as good a campus as the one in San Diego, if not better,” said Melody Hibdon, spokeswoman for Markstein Beverage.

The university, which opened last August, has received about $100,000 in pledges since July, including a $50,000 donation from Itoman and Co. in September. Last fiscal year, the university raised $230,745, said CSSM spokeswoman Carol Bonomo.

The Markstein-funded scholarship program for business students will be based on need and scholarship, Stacy said. Although specifics have not been established, the faculty endowment “would allow one of our senior faculty to go to a convention or course, or make a trip to a foreign country to see first-hand a particular development in the business field,” Stacy said.

The university’s MBA program will not begin until the 1992-93 school year, Stacy said.