dōTERRA donates $17.7 million to Utah Valley University for sports and academics

Utah Valley University is getting $17.7 million from therapeutic oils company dōTERRA — the second-largest donation in the Orem school’s history.

The donation, which will be spread out over the next decade, will go toward academic scholarships and programs and athletics.

“At dōTERRA, we feel an affinity with Utah Valley University,” David Stirling, the company’s founding executive and CEO, said in a statement.

Not only are about 130 UVU alumni employed at dōTERRA, which is headquartered in Pleasant Grove, but also 630 of the company’s employees are now attending the school.

“This donation," Stirling said, "gives us the opportunity to support a variety of UVU academic, athletic and art-based programs over the next 10 years.”

The donation will be distributed across athletics, the Center for Constitutional Studies, the Women’s Success Center, the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, and the College of Science.

According to UVU, slightly more than half of the $17.7 million will go to athletics and other programs will receive between $500,000 and a few million — and funds may be shifted according to need over the next 10 years. UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez called the donation “a game-changer for our university. The benefits for our students and the community will be immediate and long-lasting.”

The company’s name will also be displayed across the Orem campus, including:

• The dōTERRA Field at UCCU Ballpark, because the company is funding new field turf at the baseball stadium.

• The dōTERRA Performance Center at the Becky Lockhart Arena, which will feature “cutting-edge technology to help athletes prepare for and recover from practice and competition.”

• The dōTERRA Wolverine Training Dome, a new indoor practice facility.

• The dōTERRA Basketball Endowment for both men's and women's teams.

• The dōTERRA Track and Field Gift.

• There will be dōTERRA Scholarships for qualified students.

• And dōTERRA will fund an endowed chair, directorship and internships at the UVU Center for Constitutional Studies and Quill Project.

“This is a transformational and historic gift for UVU athletics,” said UVU athletic director Jared Sumsion. “Each one of our student-athletes will see the short- and long-term benefits.”

The donation will help fund a new Student-Athlete Academic and Wellness Center, and athletes will receive free dōTERRA essential oil products and therapies “to assist with recovery and to complement the treatment of injuries,” according to UVU.

The $17.7 million donation stands second only to the $21.5 million UVU received from the Woodbury Corp. in 2007, when the school was still known as Utah Valley State College. That company’s name is on the Woodbury School of Business and the building it occupies on campus.