Contact: Mary Jane Dunlap, University Relations, (785) 864-8853 or mjdunlap@ku.edu.
LAWRENCE - Representatives of the William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank, Trustee, and the KU Endowment Association announced today that, due to the success of the Kemper Fellowship program for teaching excellence at KU, they plan to continue the program another five years.
In 1996, the Kemper Foundation pledged $250,000 over five years and the KU Endowment Association matched the amount over the same period. Their gift has annually provided W.T. Kemper Fellowships for Teaching Excellence worth $5,000 each to 20 outstanding teachers and advisers at KU. The Kemper Foundation has pledged another $250,000 over the next five years, and KU Endowment will again match that amount with $250,000 over the same period.
The awards are made on the first day of classes at the start of each new school year by a surprise patrol led by KU's Chancellor Robert Hemenway and representatives of the KU Endowment Association and the Kemper Foundation, which visits the honored professors' classes unannounced. Today was the first day of classes at KU.
Michael D. Fields, executive director of the Kemper Foundation, said, "It's an honor to join the KU Endowment Association in this successful program to recognize the outstanding faculty at KU."
Hemenway said, "The Kemper Foundation and Commerce Bank extension of this gift is in recognition of the importance of outstanding teaching and advising at KU. We are deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue these awards."
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.