He said the Chengs make regular contributions to the foundation.

The president’s fund, or president’s excellence fund, is used for the president’s activities, of which travel is a small part, McCurry said. Because it is unrestricted, money donated to this fund can be used for anything “that will support the mission of the university.” He said a fund to support the university president has existed almost as long as the foundation itself, which was established in 1959.

Recently, McCurry said the fund was used to bring in performers for the School of Music’s Summer Music Series and to match contributions made by university employees during the first “NAU Giving Day” last April.

On the foundation website, the president’s fund is described as the foundation’s area of greatest need; McCurry said such unrestricted funds, which provide greater flexibility of use, make up only about 2% of all donations received and that the president’s fund is not one of the larger unrestricted funds. He estimated the foundation has less than 50 unrestricted funds, whereas there are more than 800 endowed funds, which make up only a part of the restricted funds.

“It’s not something that generates a whole bunch of money,” he said of the president’s fund.