April 28, 2000
Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.
LAWRENCE--Deloitte & Touche, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, has honored University of Kansas alumnus Edward A. Kangas, retiring chair of the firm's global organization, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, by giving $600,000 for the KU School of Business and its Division of Accounting and Information Systems.
The grant will support the school's Center for International Business, an internship program, a study-abroad scholarship program, graduate fellowships and faculty grants for research and teaching. The gift was announced today by Tom Sarowski, dean of the School of Business, and Jim Heintz, director of the division.
Deloitte & Touche, part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, gave the grant to the Kansas University Endowment Association to create the Deloitte & Touche/Ed Kangas Leadership Development Fund.
"I am honored and thrilled that Deloitte & Touche has given the grant to KU in my honor," Kangas said. "As a KU alumnus, it is important to me to contribute to the university's ability to continue to develop excellent leaders who are comfortable in the ever-globalizing business world. I am so pleased that Deloitte & Touche chose to support KU and the future leaders it will produce."
In a joint statement, Sarowski and Heintz thanked Deloitte & Touche for the grant and praised the firm and Ed Kangas for their vision in targeting the internship and study abroad programs.
"The combination of real world business and international experiences supported by this grant will provide our graduates with a unique mark of excellence in today's marketplace," they said.
Kangas, of New Canaan, Conn., received a bachelor's degree in 1966 and a master's degree in business in 1967, both from KU. As a KU student, he was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity; Delta Chi, a social fraternity; and the Interfraternity Council.
Following graduation, Kangas, a certified public accountant, joined the accounting firm of Touche Ross. He became a partner in 1975 and 10 years later became managing partner and chief executive of the firm. He was one of the architects of the merger of Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Touche Ross, which created Deloitte & Touche. From 1989 to 1994, he served as managing partner of Deloitte & Touche (USA). From 1994 to 1999, he was chair of the board and chief executive officer of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Last year, he relinquished his position as chief executive officer, but he continued to serve as chair of the board of directors. He plans to retire this summer.
Active in various civic and professional organizations, Kangas is vice chair of the board of directors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and chair of its national fund-raising committee. He is co-chair of the Campaign Finance Reform group of the Committee for Economic Development, a nonpartisan research and policy organization whose membership includes senior business executives and university presidents. He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He also is a member of the honorary business fraternity Beta Gamma Sigma directors' table.
At KU, he is a member of the School of Business Board of Advisors and a life member of the Alumni Association and the Chancellors Club, KU Endowment's major-donor organization.
In May, Kangas will receive the KU School of Business Distinguished Alumni Award for his outstanding service to the profession. He also recently received the Beta Gamma Sigma Distinguished Alumni Award.
"Ed Kangas is the perfect example of a hard-working, successful KU alumnus who rose through the ranks to run a large international firm," said Howard Cohen, a partner at Deloitte & Touche and chair of the KU School of Business Board of Advisors. "Throughout his career, he has remained committed to KU, and we thought this was a wonderful way for the firm to recognize Ed's achievements as he prepares to retire and continue to support KU."
Deloitte & Touche, one of the nation's leading professional services firms, provides assurance and advisory, tax, and management consulting services through 30,000 people in more than 100 U.S. cities. Deloitte & Touche has been recognized as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" by Fortune magazine for three consecutive years. Deloitte & Touche is part of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of the world's leading professional services firms, with more than 90,000 people in over 130 countries.
KU Endowment is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the oldest foundation of its type at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.