August 19, 1999
LAWRENCE -- A $50,000 pledge from two graduates of the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare will provide scholarships for the school's students, Dean Ann Weick announced today. Dorla J. (Dodie) Abbott and the late Dorothee L. (Dot) Simmons of Merriam have established the endowed Dot Simmons and Dodie Abbott Scholarship Fund at the Kansas University Endowment Association. The scholarships will benefit social welfare students interested in working in the health care or mental health fields.
"We've always been interested in students and decided we wanted to do something with our money that would allow students to go to school and get their degrees," Dodie Abbott said. Weick said the school is thankful for the gift.
"Dodie and Dot's decision to establish an endowed scholarship reflects their lifetime commitment to social work and their desire to insure that career opportunity for others," Weick said. "At this sad time of Dot's death, we are heartened that her memory and their shared generosity will be a vibrant part of the school's future."
Simmons died of cancer on June 11, 1999, at the home she and Abbott shared in Merriam. Born in Cameron, Mo., Simmons grew up in Kansas City and in Goodland. She received an undergraduate degree from Baker University, then studied education at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. Simmons received her MSW degree from KU in 1965. Following graduation, she worked for nearly one year at the KU Medical Center before joining the staff of the Johnson County Mental Health Center.
During her more than 20 years at the center, she served as a team leader, clinical supervisor of the adult unit, supervisor of KU students, and clinical social worker with the center's many clients. She also served as liaison with Osawatomie State Hospital and consultant with Shawnee Mission schools.
Simmons was a past secretary and board member of the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. After retiring in 1986, she served as registrar of the annual MO-KAN Institute, an educational workshop, until her death. She was named the 1999 Kansas Social Worker of the Year by the MoKan chapter.
Abbott was born in Great Bend and attended high school and junior college in Hutchinson. After earning a sociology degree at Kansas State University and working for several years at the Wyandotte County Social Welfare Board, she received her master of social work degree from KU in 1957.
Abbott worked at the Child Welfare Department of Kansas City, Kan., until 1959, when she began work at the Social Services department at the KU Medical Center. She worked at KU for 32 years, serving as a social worker and supervisor and later as assistant director of the department. Following her retirement in 1991, she spent an additional two years counseling for various social service programs.
An active member of the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Abbott also has served on the association's MoKan Unit and on the MoKan Institute Committee. In 1991 she received the MoKan Unit's Social Worker of the Year award, and in 1997 she received the KU School of Social Welfare's Outstanding Alumna award. She continues to do volunteer work for the MoKan Unit and MoKan Institute Committee.
Residents of Merriam since 1966, Simmons and Abbott enjoyed traveling in the United States and abroad, including trips to Brazil, London and France, and annual visits to Florida. Both have been longtime members of the KU Alumni Association.
Their gift and others contributed to the scholarship fund in Simmons memory will be administered by the KU Endowment Association, an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, the KU Endowment Association is the oldest foundation of its type at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.
Story by Lynn Humphrey