August 16, 1999

CHANCELLOR TO LEAD "SURPRISE PATROL," DELIVER KEMPER AWARDS

LAWRENCE -- Chancellor Robert Hemenway will lead a "surprise patrol" to deliver $5,000 Kemper Awards for teaching excellence to unsuspecting professors on Thursday, the first day of classes at the University of Kansas.

The chancellor's classroom visits will be brief but exciting. The surprise patrol will visit winning KU faculty members on Friday, Aug. 20, and Monday, Aug. 23. In all, 20 professors will be honored and $100,000 distributed.

The W.T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence recognize outstanding teachers and advisers at KU as determined by a seven-member selection committee. The committee's members include students, faculty and KU alumni. This is the fourth year in the five-year award program. The William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, established a $250,000 fund for the program. The KU Endowment Association provided $250,000 in matching funds. "KU has a great faculty," Hemenway said. "It is a privilege to be able to reward teaching and advising in such a meaningful way."

James Kemper, chair of the Kemper Foundation Contribution Committee, said he and Commerce Bank were pleased to assist KU in recruiting and retaining talented teachers for the benefit of KU students. The William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, was established in 1989 after Kemper's death. The foundation is dedicated to continuing his lifelong interest in improving the human condition and quality of life. The foundation supports Midwest communities and concentrates on initiatives in education, health and human services, civic improvements and the arts.

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858 or tcohen@ukans.edu.

-30-


| KU Home Page | KUfacts | KU University Relations' Home Page | KU News
This site is maintained by University Relations, the public relations office for the University of Kansas Lawrence campus. Copyright 1999, the University of Kansas Office of University Relations, Lawrence, KS, U.S.A. Images may be reused with notice of copyright, but not altered. KU news releases may be reprinted without permission.
kurelations@ukans.edu, (785) 864-3256.