October 14, 1999
Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment, (785) 832-7336.
LAWRENCE -- The son of a former University of Kansas chancellor has given $50,000 for the School of Education in honor of his late wife, a KU alumna, Dean Karen Symms Gallagher announced today.
Frank R. Strong, son of Frank Strong, KU's sixth chancellor from 1902 to 1920, gave cash to the Kansas University Endowment Association to establish the Gertrude Way Strong Children's Literature Collection at the School of Education's future home in Pearson Hall. The collection will provide teachers and students with access to classic children's literature as well as the most recently published children's books.
"The primary beneficiaries of Frank Strong's generosity are the elementary students of Kansas," Gallagher said. "For the first time on campus, future elementary and reading teachers will have access to books which will excite and engage emerging readers.
"The Gertrude Way Strong Children's Literature Collection is a perfect way to honor Mrs. Strong's dedication to reading and literacy."
Gertrude Way, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William L. Way of Lawrence and Kansas City, Kan., and Frank Strong met on their first day of class at what was then Lawrence Memorial High School. Gertrude Way went on to attend KU and graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1929. After graduating from high school, Frank Strong left Lawrence to attend Yale University, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1929. Later that summer, Gertrude and Frank were married.
Frank Strong taught economics at the University of Delaware before attending law school at Yale University, graduating in 1934. He then taught at the University of Iowa, Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina, from which he retired.
Gertrude Way Strong's love of books and children influenced her to become involved with both in each university community, from overseeing standardized testing of children in Delaware to advising faculty members on children's literature at Ohio State and the University of North Carolina. The couple had two children of their own, John W. and Mary Elizabeth, with whom Gertrude Way Strong shared her passion for literacy and education.
The Strongs celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary in 1998, three months before Gertrude Way Strong died. Frank Strong now lives near his daughter and son-in-law, Mary Elizabeth and Lawrence J. Brennan, in Prairie Village. John W. Strong and his wife Marty live in Tucson, Ariz.
Longtime supporters of KU, the Strongs previously established the Chancellor Frank Strong Student Emergency Loan Fund. They were members of the KU Alumni Association, where they were inducted into the Gold Medal Club, and the Chancellors Club, KU Endowment's major-donor organization. Frank Strong continues to be a member of the clubs.
The KU Endowment Association is 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 kind at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.
Story by Leah Conger