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Summer 2012 

The gift of motion 

KU researchers seek high-tech 

treatments for spinal cord injury 

$10 million gift for Energy 

and Environment center 

Far Above campaign goes public

University Marshal Maria Carlson 

leads the 2012 Commencement 

procession down the Hill. 

KU Giving is published 

three times a year by 

KU Endowment, the private 

fundraising foundation for the 

University of Kansas. 

You are receiving this magazine 

because you support KU. 

CHAIR, BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

A. Drue Jennings 

President 

Dale Seuferling 

Senior Vice President, 

Communications & 

Marketing 

Rosita Elizalde-McCoy 

Editor 

Charles Higginson 

Contributing Editors 

Lisa Scheller 

Katie Coffman 

Jessica Sain-Baird 

Valerie Gieler 

Art DIRECTOR 

Chris Millspaugh 

assistant art director 

Melissa Meyer 

We welcome your comments, 

suggestions and questions. 

KU Giving magazine 

P.O. Box 928 

Lawrence, KS 66044-0928 

785-832-7400 

kugiving@kuendowment.org 

Postmaster: 

Send address changes to: 

KU Endowment, 

P.O. Box 928, 

Lawrence KS 66044-0928 

Earl Richardson 

2 KU GIVING | SUMMER 2012

contents | summer 2012 

features 

The gift of motion | 8 

Anonymous $4 million gift drives research in treatment 

for spinal cord injury 

soar with us | 14 

Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas went 

public in April 

Adult skin cells like these supply the raw material for a potential treatment that 

would replace damaged nerve tissue in the spinal column. 

The crowd at the kickoff event filled the floor 

of Allen Fieldhouse. 

DEPARTMENTS 

PRESIDENT’S NOTE | 2 

To touch the future 

greater ku fund | 19 

Special events near and far 

ON THE COVER 

KU researchers have developed 

a microelectronic device that 

bypasses spinal cord injuries. 

photograph by mark mcdonald 

EVERY GIFT MATTERS | 3 

Award honors legendary nurse 

ku voices | 20 

Wounded Warrior Program 

graduate looks beyond Paralympics 

WHY I GIVE | 4 

across ku | 16 

An unending aria; Hall Center 

challenge; Marge Franklin firsts; 

a very worldly piano 

past and present | 21 

Students revive tree-planting 

tradition 

LET’S BE SOCIAL 

KUENDOWMENT.ORG 1

PRESIDENT’S NOTE 

Vision and perseverance 

Cancer center director Roy Jensen, 

M.D., has overseen the drive for NCI 

designation since 2003. 

Never underestimate the power of a bold and compelling vision to 

move people to action. 

Eight years ago, the University of Kansas put its cancer center on the 

path to gain recognition by the National Cancer Institute. It was a gutsy 

move, and it was fraught with risk. The required investments seemed 

monumental at the time, most especially in the face of the unprecedented 

global economic downturn. 

But for many donors, there was no better cause, and their belief in 

this vision would not be shaken. Gifts came from modest donors in 

rural Kansas, from major foundations and from Kansas City civic leaders. 

All of them decided that the state of Kansas and our region would 

no longer be left behind. We deserved this recognition, and the access 

to research and life-saving cures that comes with it. Large and small, 

their gifts added up to $107 million in private support for the cancer 

center since 2008. 

On July 12, the official announcement came at a news conference: 

The University of Kansas Cancer Center became the 67 th NCI-designated 

cancer center in the country. This designation means nothing less 

than a transformation for our region. 

And yet, it’s hard to believe that, at one time, this vision seemed farfetched. 

Many people cherished the dream, but none more than Dr. Roy 

Jensen, the cancer center’s director. In 2003, Roy uprooted his family from 

Nashville and returned to his native Kansas to help navigate the cancer center 

toward this designation. He became emotional at the news conference 

when he described the sacrifice this move meant for his family at the time. 

When he first met Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little a few years ago, 

Roy told her, “I’m going to do this, and I will not be deterred.” Not given 

to rest on his laurels, Roy is now setting his sights on an even higher 

milestone: to achieve NCI designation in 2015 as a comprehensive cancer 

center, the highest possible distinction. Is there any doubt we will get 

there with him at the helm? 

To all of you who contributed to making this vision a reality: 

Thank you for believing in us. And to Roy Jensen: Thank you for your 

indomitable spirit. 

Dale Seuferling, President 

mark mcdonald 


every gift matters 

Award honors legendary nurse 

Jenny West belonged to the first group 

of continuum of care nurses at The 

University of Kansas Hospital. Nurses 

in this relatively new role help patients 

make a seamless transition from inpatient 

to outpatient care. It’s a complicated 

role, balancing the needs of 

patients, the hospital, doctors and insurance 

companies. 

Around the time this type of care 

was first established, about 1997, Janice 

Sandt, clinical nurse coordinator at the 

Hospital, met Jenny. Sandt said Jenny 

often came in early and stayed late. 

“Jenny was a legend at KU Hospital,” 

she said. “She was a kind and caring 

person. She would walk down the halls 

starting before sunrise with a smile.” 

Jenny learned she had lung cancer 

in 2011, and had a lung removed and 

completed chemotherapy. She returned to 

work six months later, her long workdays 

shortened to accommodate her health. 

Charles West, Jenny’s husband, said, 

“She loved the nursing profession, and 

she especially loved KU. She wouldn’t 

have considered working anywhere else.” 

In January 2012, she had to stop 

working completely because of a hip fracture. 

Sandt organized a memory book for 

Jenny and was overwhelmed by the number 

of contributions. She then decided to 

create an award in Jenny’s honor. “Jenny 

is somebody who you do these kinds of 

awards for,” she said. 

With the help of colleagues, families 

and friends, the annual award was 

established to provide $1,000 to one fulltime 

nurse who works in nursing clinical 

excellence, case management or another 

expanded nursing role at KU Hospital. 

Jenny died shortly after the award 

was created. She was touched that her 

friends wanted to create the award in 

her honor, and she liked the idea of 

recognizing nurses in continuum of care, 

Sandt said. More than 50 donors have 

given more than $7,540 to the award 

fund; to create an award for nurses in 

perpetuity, it must reach $25,000. 

“Jenny’s energy and presence changed 

the lives of those around her,” Sandt said. 

“She will be a hard act to follow.” 

— Jessica Sain-Baird 

YOU CAN HELP 

Nurses touch many lives. To support 

the Jenny West Continuum of Care 

Nursing Award, contact Courtney 

Johanning, 913-588-4704 or 

cjohanning@kumc.edu, or visit 

kuendowment.org/jwest. 

Jenny West was a member 

of the Brainsaver team at 

the 2006 Kansas City Heart 

Walk in support of the 

American Heart Association. 

courtesy of Janice Sandt 


why i give | snapshots 

1 2 

4 

5 

3 

1 “Major companies today are 

3 “KU is a great asset for the state 

5 “We made this gift as a living 

becoming more international. 

However, people in other countries 

don’t necessarily view business the 

way we do. It’s important for our 

students to have the opportunity 

to experience different cultures 

and attitudes — it makes them 

more capable of working in today’s 

global marketplace.” 

Don Faught, B.S. 1973 Mechanical 

Engineering, Red Feather Lakes, 

Colo. 

$30,000 outright, $50,000 

estate commitment — to support 

international studies by students 

in the School of Engineering. 

2 “I established the scholarship 

to help build KU’s outstanding 

foreign language and area studies 

programs, and as a memorial to my 

parents and aunt, who imparted 

to me an appreciation of my 

Ukrainian heritage.” 

Peter Jarosewycz, Kansas City, Mo. 

$32,000 outright— for the 

Jarosewycz Family Scholarship in 

Ukrainian Studies in the Center for 

Eastern European and Eurasian 

Studies; for graduate students with 

an interest in Ukrainian Studies, one 

of the leading programs in that 

area in the United States. 

and a wonderful opportunity for 

Kansas kids. It deserves support 

from those of us who’ve benefited 

from it.” 

Darrel Cohoon, B.A. English 

1965, and Sharon Cohoon, 1966, 

Huntington Beach, Calif. 

$500,000 — bequest expectancy to 

provide unrestricted support for the 

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

4 “My training at KU enabled 

me to have a long and successful 

professional life. In return, I wanted 

to leave a legacy for my residency 

training program, which will be 

instrumental in further elevating 

the qualifications of newly 

graduated residents.” 

Misha Curtis, M.D., Certificate of 

Residency 1980, Scottsdale, Ariz. 

$500,000 outright— to establish a 

visiting professorship in obstetrics/ 

gynecology at the School of 

Medicine. 

memorial to Gail and to provide 

a teaching tool for pharmacy 

students. It’s a small token of the 

family’s appreciation for the great 

education we received at KU.” 

Jim Heim, Pharmacy 1969, and 

Nora Kaschube, Lawrence, Kan. 

$30,000 outright— to endow a 

fund for the School of Pharmacy’s 

medicinal garden. The garden 

was dedicated in 2011 and 

named for Jim’s wife and Nora’s 

sister, Gail Heim, Pharmacy, 1969, 

who died of cancer in 2009. 

6 “It’s good to have the ability 

to make the gift. It seems like a 

small thing in comparison to what 

I got out of attending KU’s School 

of Social Welfare. I had so many 

opportunities that I wouldn’t have 

had otherwise. It opened doors for 

me that I probably wouldn’t even 

have tried to find — let alone open.” 

Roger Werholtz, master’s in Social 

Welfare 1978, and Shirley Werholtz, 

Lawrence, Kan. 

$50,000 — bequest expectancy 

to benefit the School of Social 

Welfare; $30,000 for a scholarship 

and $20,000 for unrestricted 

support for the school. 

#2: istock photo 


6 

why i give | estate gifts 

the last full measure 

Many people make their final gifts to KU their most 

significant, by including KU Endowment in their estate 

planning. Recently realized estate gifts include: 

The Hon. Wesley Brown: bequest, unrestricted to 

the School of Law 

7 8 

Ernest Crow, M.D. 1944: charitable remainder trust to 

establish a new scholarship, School of Medicine-Wichita 

Mary De Mendez, B.A. 1962, B.S. 1963, M.A. 1970: 

bequest for Library Enrichment 

Sidney Ashton Garrett, B.A. 1968, B.S. 1970: bequest, 

support divided among 10 specific KU areas 

Margaret Hoffman: bequest to support scholarships 

and research at the KU Medical Center 

7 “I supported the Engelmann 

and Youngberg scholarship funds 

because, without the scholarships 

and help that I received while in 

school, I would not have had the 

many wonderful opportunities 

provided to me during my career. 

Both honored individuals — my wife 

and Irvin Youngberg — were largely 

responsible for helping me reach 

my goals.” 

Cal Engelmann, B.A. Chemistry 

1953, M.D. 1957, Mission Hills, Kan.; 

to honor his late wife, Anneliese 

Engelmann, Business 1953, 

and the late Irvin Youngberg, 

Endowment executive secretary 

from 1948 to 1975. 

$113,000 outright— $100,000 to 

establish the Anneliese Engelmann 

Scholarship for the School of 

Business, and $13,000 to enhance 

the Youngberg-Engelmann 

Scholarship for the College of 

Liberal Arts and Sciences, bringing 

the fund to more than $53,000. 

8 “The annual presentation of this 

scholarship to a student committed 

to furthering social justice through 

literature is a wonderful way for 

our family to honor Jamie and 

acknowledge her love of KU.” 

Dave Otis, Fort Collins, Colo.; Bill 

Crockett, Mill Valley, Calif.; Pat Otis, 

Ottumwa, Iowa; and Kelsey Holt, 

Boston, Mass. 

$40,000 outright— to establish a 

scholarship for graduate students 

majoring in English who have an 

interest in social justice, in memory 

of Jamie Crockett Otis, B.A. 

English 1971. 

Dean Holben, B.S. 1950, M.S. 1952: bequest for 

scholarships, School of Engineering 

Clarence Kivett, B.S. 1928: charitable remainder trust 

for faculty development in the School of Architecture, 

Design and Planning 

John P. O’Connell, B.M.Ed. 1961: bequest for 

scholarships, School of Music 

Chester Oberg, CLAS 1931: bequest, uses to 

be determined 

Frances Peterson: charitable gift annuity and 

charitable remainder trust for the School of Music, 

scholarships and unrestricted 

Marilyn Prewitt, CLAS 1949: bequest, unrestricted 

support to the Department of Geology 

Caryl Anderson Toedter, B.A. 1936: charitable gift 

annuity, unrestricted to the university 

David Tripp, B.S. 1937: bequest, unrestricted to 

the university 

Estate gifts to benefit KU should be written to KU 

Endowment. Please contact Andy Morrison, Director 

of Gift Planning, 1-800-444-4201, when you set up 

your estate to make sure your wishes can be fulfilled. 

If you have included KU Endowment in your estate 

plans, please let us know so we can recognize you 

in the Elizabeth Watkins Society. We respect all 

requests for confidentiality. 


why i give | featured gifts 

Energy and Environment Center 

New building brings disciplines together 

“ 

Scott and Carol Ritchie, of Wichita, 

have continued their long history 

of support for KU. 

Why I Give 

KU Geology gave me a head start 

in my field of petroleum exploration 

geology. Carol and I met at 

KU, sent our kids here, and have 

enjoyed our continuing close relationships 

with many facets of the 

university. It is our great pleasure 

to support a new generation of 

scientists by helping provide a 

modern facility for their training 

and research. ” 

—Scott Ritchie 

A new Energy and Environment Center 

at KU will provide a hub for multidisciplinary 

research on energy and the 

environment. Plans took a giant leap forward 

when KU alumni Scott and Carol 

Ritchie, of Wichita, made a $10 million 

lead gift to support the project. 

The center will be a landmark: a 

40,000-square-foot addition to Lindley 

Hall, the home of the Department of 

Geology, at the corner of Naismith Drive 

and Jayhawk Boulevard. It will create 

spaces for collaboration among geology, 

engineering, the Kansas Geological Survey 

and the tertiary oil recovery project. 

Moreover, it will bring together faculty 

conducting energy-related research in 

virtually all academic fields. 

The building’s design itself is 

intended to inspire innovation. It will 

have a green roof, deep daylighting and 

rainwater harvesting. Program spaces 

will be connected visually, creating an 

open-source environment. 

The center’s laboratories can be shared 

by multiple researchers and repurposed 

as opportunities and funding become 

available. Currently, the geology department’s 

high-end research labs are located 

on west campus and explicitly prohibit 

teaching. Notably, the new labs will support 

both research and teaching. This 

aspect alone guarantees better-trained 

graduates, even more so considering that 

these labs will be shared with the School 

of Engineering. 

The building also will include an 

adaptable auditorium to bring together 

students in geology and petroleum engineering 

for co-taught courses. Several 

collaborative spaces will facilitate small 

theme-based conferences, bringing 

industry and scientists from around the 

world to KU. 

The center is expected to cost 

$28 million altogether. Earlier this year, 

Chesapeake Energy also committed 

$5 million toward its construction. 

Scott Ritchie, a Wichita native, graduated 

from KU in 1954 with a bachelor’s 

degree in geology. He is chair of Ritchie 

Exploration Inc., a Wichita-based oil and 

gas exploration company he founded in 

1963. He also is chair of Hallrich Company, 

which owns Pizza Hut restaurants 

in northeast Ohio, and president of Highland 

Ranch Company, a cattle ranching 

operation in the Flint Hills. Carol 

Swanson Ritchie grew up in Clarinda, 

Iowa, and earned a bachelor’s degree in 

music education from KU in 1954. She is 

a longtime Wichita community and civic 

leader, active in organizations that include 

the botanical garden, historical museum 

and symphony. The couple married three 

weeks after their KU graduation, and 

they have three children, all of whom 

attended KU. 

The Ritchies have maintained strong 

connections with KU. Both serve on 

4-Wichita, which promotes the School 

of Medicine-Wichita. Scott is a Life 

Trustee of the KU Endowment Board 

of Trustees, and Carol has served on the 

advisory board of Women Philanthropists 

for KU. She is past president of the 

KU Alumni Association and has been 

involved at the state and national levels. 

They have provided generous support to 

areas across KU, including geology, KU 

Alumni Association, Lied Center, Spencer 

Museum of Art, School of Medicine-Wichita 

and student scholarships. 

— Charles Higginson 

brian goodman 


From discovery to cure 

Fellowships will advance neuroscience research 

New fellowships at the University 

of Kansas Medical Center will spur 

research and aid in transforming discoveries 

into cures for neurological disorders. 

The estate of Mabel Woodyard distributed 

$1.25 million to KU Endowment 

through the Douglas County Community 

Foundation to establish the Mabel 

A. Woodyard Fellowships in Neurodegenerative 

Disorders. 

Peter Smith, Ph.D., directs KU’s 

Institute for Neurological Discoveries, 

which administers the Woodyard awards. 

“These awards were created to fulfill the 

desire to mold the next generation of neuroscientists,” 

said Smith. “By encouraging 

trainees to engage in an area of neuroscience 

discovery early in their careers, we 

advance the field for generations to come.” 

Mabel Woodyard was born in 1921 

and grew up on a farm near Charleston, 

Ill. Following high school, she completed 

a secretarial course. In 1950, she 

became executive secretary and personal 

assistant to Nina Pulliam, wife 

and business partner of Eugene Pulliam, 

editor and publisher of the Indianapolis 

Star, the Arizona Republic and 

Phoenix Gazette, and other newspapers. 

Her career with the Pulliams spanned 

nearly five decades. 

She died in 2008 from progressive 

supranuclear palsy, a neurodegenerative 

disorder that results in movement 

deficits similar to Parkinson’s disease. 

Her brother, George Woodyard, was 

her connection to KU — a professor of 

Spanish from 1966 to 2005 who also 

held a variety of administrative positions, 

including serving as KU’s first 

dean of international studies. His wife, 

Eleanor, said the neurosciences fellowship 

fund and the university were 

important to her husband. 

The inaugural fellowship recipients are 

Lezi E, a doctoral student in the departments 

of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation 

Sciences and Neurology; and 

Michelle Healy Stoffel, an M.D./Ph.D. 

student in the Department of Pharmacology, 

Toxicology and Therapeutics. 

— Lisa Scheller 

“ 

Why I Give 

Knowing what Mabel went 

through with a progressive neurological 

disease, George hoped that 

her estate would help researchers 

find a cure so others wouldn’t have 

to suffer as she did. ” 

— Eleanor Woodyard 

lisa scheller 

Eleanor Woodyard, center, stands with the first two recipients of the 

Woodyard Fellowships: Lezi E, left, and Michelle Healy Stoffel. 


Peter Smith, Ph.D., holds a 

slide containing sections of 

the injured spinal cord of a rat. 


The gift 

of motion 

Donor spurs research into 

treatment for spinal cord injury 

By Julie Mettenburg 

photography by Mark McDonald 

Two research projects at the KU Medical Center may provide 

new hope for the treatment of spinal cord injuries: not only to 

retain movement in patients’ arms and legs, but also to enable 

them to use their hands, stand or even walk again. 


One gift, many benefits 

This research is inspired and 

supported by an individual 

donor, but it holds potential 

promise for thousands of others. 

Spinal cord injury is costly, 

devastating and, currently, 

essentially untreatable. 

About 265,000 people in the 

United States are living with 

its effects, with about 12,000 

new patients each year. It 

affects primarily males who 

average 40 years old. They face 

reduced life expectancy and 

immense continuing medical 

costs. Only a third of patients 

ever successfully resume 

employment, with just 11 percent 

working one year after injury. 

n anonymous donor has provided $4 million 

to support the Spinal Cord Injury Repair Program 

in developing two novel approaches in restoring 

nerve communication using microelectronics and 

cellular regeneration. 

“To be able to stand up would be a major change 

in quality of life for many patients,” said Randolph 

J. Nudo, Ph.D., director of the Landon Center on 

Aging and one of the program’s lead researchers. 

“We want to go beyond that, but one step at a time.” 

The donor, a quadriplegic following a spinal cord 

injury several years ago, approached KU with a 

desire to fund neuroscience research that might lead 

to restored function after chronic spinal cord injury. 

Smith and colleagues identified five potential projects 

based on expertise in KU’s Institute for Neurological 

Discoveries (IND) and relevance to the donor. They 

narrowed the list to the two that provided the best 

chances for improvement. 

Peter G. Smith, Ph.D., director of the IND and 

the Spinal Cord Injury Repair Program, said the 

project brings researchers from basic science disciplines 

such as physiology, anatomy and pharmacology 

together with clinicians 

in neurosurgery, neurology, 

rehabilitation medicine and 

more. “This is not just about 

KU,” Smith said. “We’ve 

brought in key collaborators 

at K-State, Case Western 

Reserve University, Harvard 

University and the University 

of Washington. This is 

about building the best possible 

research teams to solve 

a very complicated problem.” 

The brain-spinal cord 

interface approach, led by 

Nudo, uses microelectronics 

to provide an artificial 

communication link from 

the brain to the spinal cord, a pathway that is severed 

in spinal cord injury. The regeneration strategy, led by 

Smith, is to discover a way to place new cells in the 

spinal cord that can replace damaged pathways. 

“Together, these short- and long-term fixes provide 

the greatest hope for individuals with spinal cord 

injuries,” Smith said. The early phases of the work 

must be performed in animals in order to perfect 

techniques and develop rigorous measurements to 

determine if therapies are working. The challenge 

now, for Nudo’s team, is mapping brain and spinal 

cord areas to connect; for Smith’s team, it’s engineering 

the proper cells to replace injured spinal cord cells. 

Answers on the head of a pin 

The next time you curse your cell phone, think twice: 

The same technology might hold the key to preserving 

motion after spinal cord injuries. 

Nudo has previously focused on developing therapies 

for stroke using neural prosthetics to bypass 

damaged areas of the brain. This project brings that 

approach to spinal cord injury. 

When the neural pathways that connect brain to 

limbs are severed, several structures remain intact: the 

parts of the brain creating signals, the neurons below 

the injury in the spinal cord that relay signals, and the 

muscles that would receive the signals. Therefore, a 

patient could retain basic motor function if implanted 

electrodes could record the brain’s electrical signals 

and send them past the damaged area, where they 

could activate an external limb, stimulate a muscle 

directly or stimulate neurons in the spinal cord. 

“Our work is trying to put those two things 

together,” Nudo said, “so someone literally would 

think about moving a limb, using the same neurons 

as before, and trigger the movement.” 

Implantable devices must be very small. Ten years 

ago, Nudo said, the technologies he’s using would 

have required an entire rack of computers. With 

microelectronics advances, his team can borrow from 

resources like cell phone technology. 


“Basically, we’re functionally reconnecting the 

brain and spinal cord with electronic devices,” he 

said. “We are designing circuits like a computer on 

the head of a pin.” 

A bridge of cells 

Unlike nerves outside the central nervous system, the 

nerves in the spinal cord cannot regenerate or repair 

themselves. Smith’s team is working on a treatment 

involving new cells with the ability to repair the 

damage for good. 

“A more permanent treatment would be reconnecting 

those wires, which means replacing dead cells,” 

Smith said. “If we can discover the right kinds of 

cells and the right technique to move them back into 

the spinal cord, we can get them to create new pathways 

and restore function below the lesion.” 

Top: Peter Smith and Dora Agbas, Ph.D., examine sections of injured 

spinal cords. Agbas is a research assistant professor of molecular and 

integrative physiology. 

Above: Smith’s team took a patient’s skin cells, converted them to stem 

cells, and induced them to grow into these adult nerve cells. 


Smith’s team takes adult skin or blood cells and 

genetically reprograms them into stem cells, which 

can then become any other kind of cell. The IND 

partners with KU’s High 

Throughput Screening Laboratory 

in discovering drugs that 

can coax these stem cells to 

become the right type of neurons 

for repairing spinal injury; 

testing in animals will ensure 

they perform appropriately. 

The goal is to take a patient’s 

own easily obtainable cells, 

turn them into stem cells, and then encourage them 

to become cells that can be transplanted to repair a 

spinal cord injury. 

“Basically, we’re 

functionally 

reconnecting 

the brain and 

spinal cord with 

electronic devices.” 

Donor partnership drives research 

This project represents an unusual way to fund 

research. The donor had expressed interest in supporting 

research on two levels: He wanted to keep 

his support local rather than send it to research 

centers in other cities, and he wanted to partner with 

a top-notch scientific institution able to conduct cutting 

edge research related to spinal cord injury. 

KU’s Institute for Neurological Discoveries, a 

new model developed with just this kind of purpose 

in mind, was poised to work with him. To prepare 

for potential opportunities, the IND formed in 2008 

after identifying research strengths at the medical 

center and affiliated regional institutions. Six specialties 

were identified addressing some 22 conditions, 

spinal cord injuries among them. With appropriate 

funding, Smith said, the IND could become preeminent 

in any of these areas of research. 

He said relatively few institutions have adopted 

this partnership model. “Donors have specific endpoints 

in mind, and we’ve developed specific milestones 

that we believe will take us toward those endpoints,” 

he said. “We’ve done this with the highest 

level of scientific integrity, so it’s really good science, 

but we also have catered to the needs of the patient.” 

— Randolph Nudo 

Nudo said the scientific community at KU is grateful 

for the opportunity to develop this program, which 

could not have happened without this donor’s help. 

“It brought together scientists and 

clinicians who normally don’t work 

together to work single-mindedly 

on a project, and created the focus 

for all of us to think about a single 

goal,” he said. “It’s bringing a lot 

of visibility to the IND and to KU 

neuroscience in general.” 

Smith said, “Suddenly, you’re 

not working on a grant from the 

National Institutes of Health. You’re working for 

someone — a patient — and you understand the goals, 

hopes and desires, the urgency with which they 

would like to see some restoration of function.” 

He said the current NIH funding situation is 

unpromising. Many good projects are not funded, 

which doesn’t tend to open up much new exploratory 

science. 

However, donations like this one create opportunity 

for researchers to work on projects NIH might 

deem too risky. And success would likely help KU 

and the IND obtain future additional funding from 

NIH, the Department of Defense and others, bringing 

new opportunities. 

The IND was set up for just this purpose, Smith 

said, with teams preassembled and resources in 

place to respond rapidly. “This is the culmination of 

exactly what we were trying to accomplish,” he said. 

“It serves as a template for people as a way to get 

involved: You can make a difference.” 

YOU CAN HELP 

To support this research or any other 

program at the KU Medical Center, 

contact Stephanie Grinage, 913-588-5552 

or sgrinage@kuendowment.org, or visit 

kuendowment.org/KUMC. 


Randolph Nudo works to map areas 

of the brain that send signals to 

muscles. He is assisted by Shawn Frost, 

Ph.D., research assistant professor of 

molecular and integrative physiology. 


Soar 

with us 

photography | Earl Richardson and Ryan Waggoner 

early 450 KU alumni and friends celebrated the 

launch of Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas, at 

Allen Fieldhouse on April 28. 

There was a lot to celebrate, too — an ambitious 

$1.2 billion goal to benefit KU and The University of 

Kansas Hospital to be met by 2016, and the announcement 

that donors had given $612 million so far. 

The fieldhouse was transformed for the event, which 

featured Professor of Voice Joyce Castle, the KU Chamber 

Singers and the KU Marching Band. Interactive areas 

were devoted to showcasing how various programs are 

working hard to build an even greater university. 

Far Above seeks support to educate future leaders, 

advance medicine, accelerate discovery and drive economic 

growth to seize the opportunities of the future. To learn 

about the campaign and its goals, visit farabove.org. 

These underwriters helped make the event possible: Jean and Joe Brandmeyer; 

Suzanne Deal Booth and David G. Booth; Capitol Federal; and IMA. 

MORE 

See more 

kickoff photos at 

kuendowment.org/ 

kugiving. 



across ku 

An unending aria 

The late Elisabeth Collins, M.D., wanted her estate 

and that of her late husband, Dean T. Collins, M.D., to 

benefit students at KU, his alma mater. Their $1.7 million 

estate gift established the Dean T. and Elisabeth 

Collins Scholarship to provide full support for KU students 

to study longer-term — a semester or a year — at 

an institution of higher education in Germany. While 

the scholarship is open to students of various majors, 

its focus is on opera students. 

From vastly different beginnings, both became 

psychiatrists. Elisabeth grew up in Germany during 

World War II, and Dean was reared south of Junction 

City, Kan. After he earned an M.D. from KU in 1955, 

he served a residency at the University of Tübingen, 

where Elisabeth was his supervisory physician. 

After Dean returned to Kansas, they corresponded 

by mail, and in 1959, he convinced her to cross the 

ocean and become his wife. In Topeka, Dean was a 

staff psychiatrist at the Menninger Clinic; Elisabeth 

was on the staff of Kansas State Hospital and other 

institutions. Both also later worked in private practice. 

They shared a lifelong love of opera, attending as 

many as 150 operas a year and visiting all the world’s 

major opera houses several times. Elisabeth’s native 

Germany lay at the heart of their love of opera, and 

they felt KU opera students would benefit from 

extended study, absorbing the language and culture. 

— Lisa Scheller 

She built it, 

they have come 

Beth Whittaker, head of the Kenneth Spencer 

Research Library, offers this update on the 

story in our previous issue about the remodeled 

Marilyn Stokstad Reading Room at the library: 

“I’m happy to report that, since remodeling 

the entryway and creating the new reading 

room, we are already seeing a major increase in 

visitors — nearly double the number of visitors 

this semester over last — and returning visitors 

seem as thrilled as the Spencer staff with the 

improvements, all of which were made possible 

by Dr. Stokstad’s generous gift.” 

bottom: brian goodman/top (2): courtesy of cheryl collins 


left: courtesy of janice wilson/right: steve puppe 

To change 

the world 

Marge Franklin was a woman of “firsts.” In 

1956, she became the first woman to graduate 

from KU’s aeronautical (now aerospace) engineering 

program. She was the first woman in 

the United States to be initiated into the Sigma 

Tau engineering honor society and the first 

woman to serve on the KU School of Engineering 

Advisory Board. 

She also became internationally known for 

her expertise in the areas of municipal solid 

waste, hazardous waste, recycling and material 

flows methodology. 

“My love affair with KU and 

the School of Engineering 

was immediate and lifelong.” 

— Marge franklin 

When Franklin received the KU Distinguished 

Engineering Service Award in 2003, 

she said, “My love affair with KU and the 

School of Engineering was immediate and lifelong. 

No matter how I try, I can never repay this 

school for the difference it has made in my life.” 

After Franklin died in 2011, her family and 

friends began giving back to honor her memory 

and transform more students’ lives. More than 

50 donations quickly raised the Marjorie Franklin 

Women in Engineering Scholarship above 

the $30,000 minimum to be endowed, and the 

scholarship will be awarded in perpetuity. 

Franklin’s family said, “Marge’s message for 

those in the engineering field was, ‘Engineers 

have changed the world and will continue to 

do so.’ We hope scholarship recipients will use 

the knowledge gained at KU to change and 

improve the world.” 

— Jessica Sain-Baird 

Hall Foundation 

rises to challenge 

The Hall Center for the Humanities has pioneered interdisciplinary 

initiatives at KU since 1976. It coordinates 

the oldest high-profile public lecture series on campus, the 

Humanities Lecture Series. Its programs provide models 

of successful programming now used by humanities centers 

nationwide. And now, the Hall Center is working to match 

a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the 

Humanities — the third in the center’s history. 

The $425,000 challenge grant requires that the center 

raise $1.275 million in private gifts by July 31, 2015. In 

April, a $360,000 gift from the Hall Family Foundation 

put the Hall Center closer to meeting the challenge. At the 

same time, the foundation gave $430,000 to fund renovations 

and improvements to the center’s building, including 

creation of a new seminar room and two office spaces. 

The center received the latest NEH challenge grant 

in 2011. When met, the grant will provide a $1.7 million 

endowment to create two new programs at the Hall Center 

— Research Collaboratives and Scholars on Site — that 

will encourage collaborative research in the humanities and 

put KU on the map for innovative studies in the field. The 

programs will transform the conduct of research in humanities 

disciplines, and create public scholarship that meets 

community needs and demonstrates the relevance of the 

humanities to the public wellbeing. 

— Katie Coffman 

YOU CAN HELP 

Humanities disciplines enrich every life. To help the Hall 

Center meet its latest challenge, contact Molly Paugh at 

785-832-7428 or mpaugh@kuendowment.org, or visit 

kuendowment.org/hallcenter_neh. 


across ku 

MORE 

See video of students 

playing the Disklavier at 

kuendowment.org/kugiving. 

Soojin Kim, Bloomington, Ind., graduate student, listens as the Disklavier replays her rendition of Robert 

Schumann’s Fantasie. “I love it and I hate it at the same time,” she said. “I hear all my mistakes.” 

A tune heard ’round the world 

Two grand pianos stand in Scott McBride Smith’s 

office in Murphy Hall, a scuffed old Steinway and 

a brand-new Yamaha Disklavier. Smith, Division 

Director of Piano, is more excited these days about 

the Yamaha: “This is the greatest new piano teaching 

tool in 150 years.” 

You could call it a cyberpiano. Each key has a 

laser sensor and a microchip. An electronic controller 

can record every detail of a performance and play 

it all back at any tempo. The piano can communicate 

through a standard Internet connection with other 

Disklaviers worldwide. They can play each other’s 

performances, live or recorded. It even has a remote. 

During playback, the keys and pedals move. Students 

and teachers can slow down rapid passages to 

reveal details of technique that are difficult to perceive 

in real time. 

The School of Music is attracting increasing 

numbers of international applicants who can’t always 

afford to travel here to audition. “With this, someone 

in Singapore can play, and we can hear it in real time,” 

Smith said. “It is essentially a live audition.” 

The piano allows KU musicians to give lessons 

or teach master classes to students around the world. 

“This enables 

YOU CAN HELP 

To support the Piano Division, please 

contact Mike Arp, 785-832-7410 or 

marp@kuendowment.org, or visit 

kuendowment.org/pianodiv. 

us to reach out 

to the world of 

piano playing, 

which is an international 

art now,” 

Smith said. “We can let the world know what we’re 

doing here in Kansas.” 

The school bought the piano using unrestricted 

funds from the Templeton Fund in Music. 


Earl Richardson 


greater ku fund 

Events, reverent and raucous 

Gifts to the Greater KU Fund allow the university to direct funds where 

no other support exists, and enhance what makes KU a world-class institution. 

This fund is made possible by unrestricted gifts. 

The Greater KU Fund provides support for a wide variety of special 

events — including Commencement, Homecoming, Band Day, Traditions 

Night and KU’s presence at the Kansas State Fair. 

BY THE 

NUMBERS 

These KU outreach efforts and 

campus celebrations have been 

enabled by unrestricted giving 

40+ 

recognition events on the 

Lawrence campus and 26,000 

guests in Memorial Stadium 

for Commencement in 2012 

9,500 

guests at Traditions Night, 

an annual Hawk Week event 

involving the Marching 

Jayhawks, Cheer Squad, 

mascots and coaches 

Graduates find many 

ways to express Jayhawk 

Love at Commencement. 

10 

days spent representing KU 

at the Kansas State Fair 

Earl Richardson (2) 

MORE 

Find more 

commencement 

photos at 

kuendowment.org/ 

kugiving. 

2,600+ 

admissions booklets 

distributed at the Fair 

40,000+ 

Jayhawk buttons 

distributed at the Fair 


ku voices 

Healing by degrees 

A retired Army sergeant, Kortney Clemons graduated in spring 2012 with a master’s degree in 

curriculum and instruction through the Army Wounded Warrior Education Initiative. Clemons 

served as a combat medic for five years and was wounded during a combat tour in Iraq with the 

First Cavalry Division. He trained with the KU track and field team to prepare for national trials for 

the 2012 Paralympic Games in London but was not selected to the U.S. team. 

Tell us about your service history. 

I joined the Army in 2001 as a combat medic. 

I assisted troops and was the first-line responder. 

I was injured 12 months into the Iraq deployment, 

on Feb. 21, 2005. We stopped on the road to help 

injured passengers in an overturned vehicle. An IED 

exploded while I was helping carry someone to a 

Blackhawk helicopter. I lost my right leg above the 

knee. Three other servicemen died. 

What brought you to KU? 

During my recovery, I learned about an adaptive program 

and went to school to get my bachelor’s degree. 

Later on, the Army Wounded Warrior Education 

Initiative at Fort Leavenworth brought me to Kansas. 

The program is set up for wounded warriors to get a 

master’s degree and continue military careers or be 

civilian employees. 

What are your plans and goals? 

I am disappointed I didn’t go to London, but I’m not 

bitter about the journey at all. I have a lifelong love 

of education and believe 

my experience will help 

me teach others. I am 

working with the School 

of Advanced Leadership 

Tactics at Fort Leavenworth 

and plan to continue 

working for the Army. And 

I hope to continue working 

with people with disabilities, 

especially children. 

Kortney Clemons prepares 

to burn up the track at 

Memorial Stadium. 

How did you get interested in 

the Paralympics? 

The U.S. Paralympics came to the hospital and held a 

Learn to Run Clinic. Seeing a person with the same 

injury as mine running inspired me. Initially, I couldn’t 

run, so I got involved in powerlifting and was on 

several teams. Then I pursued running and have been 

doing that ever since. 

How has KU supported your training? 

KU has been outstanding, allowing me to be a volunteer 

coach and train with the other athletes. It made 

my training so much better and made me part of the 

team. We motivate each other. The young athletes 

keep me young, and they look at me and figure if I 

can do it, so can they. 

What has the Army Wounded Warrior Education 

Initiative meant to you? 

It means a lot, because it is the Army taking care 

of one of its own, and it has allowed me to follow 

another career path. I’m grateful to be a part of it. 

It’s going to positively affect my life moving forward. 

How can private giving benefit veterans? 

Support can mean a lot, especially if someone wants 

to come back and get an advanced degree. Having 

military personnel get a degree and a new career so 

they can help their families is a good thing. 

— Valerie Gieler 

YOU CAN HELP 

With the aid of donors, KU’s Office of Professional 

Military Education has established a Wounded 

Warrior Scholarship Fund open to wounded 

veterans and their primary caregivers and 

dependents. To support it, contact Jerome Davies, 

785-832-7460 or jdavies@kuendowment.org, or 

visit kuendowment.org/warriors. 

steve puppe 


past and present 

Decades ago, 

the American 

Elms that 

lined Jayhawk 

Boulevard met 

in the middle. 

This spring, 

students 

planted 10 

redbud trees 

to replace 

several lost in 

recent years. 

courtesy of spencer research library, ku libraries/inset: charles higginson 

Made in the shade 

On March 29, students and faculty honored a 134-year-old KU tradition 

by planting 10 redbud trees along Jayhawk Boulevard. The trees 

replaced others that were removed a few years ago to allow repairs to 

underground steam tunnels. 

On the same date in 1878, KU faculty and students planted more 

than 300 evergreen, hackberry, elm and honey locust saplings on Mount 

Oread. Chancellor James Marvin declared the day a holiday. The Class 

of 1945, at the suggestion of Eleanor Malott, wife of Chancellor Deane 

Malott, made a gift to purchase 1,200 redbud, plum and apple trees. 

Unfortunately, like the canopy of elms that once arched over Jayhawk 

Boulevard, many of these trees have been lost to age, storms or disease. 

Now, student groups have partnered with the university to maintain our 

beloved trees. 


YOU CAN HELP 

Right now, there’s a bonus: Historic Mount 

Oread Friends, a campus organization, has 

made a challenge grant to continue the effort 

to replant Mount Oread. Visit kuendowment. 

org/replantmountoread —and plant a tree. 


P.O. Box 928 

Lawrence, KS 66044-0928 

Non-Profit Org. 

U.S. Postage 

PAID 

Lawrence, Kansas 

Permit No. 72 

The Memorial Campanile casts a long 

shadow in the midst of its 61st summer. 

lauren cunningham 

Make a gift to build a greater university at www.kuendowment.org/givetoku

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