Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.
LAWRENCE - A former physical education teacher and University of Kansas alumna and her husband have contributed more than $48,600 for the KU School of Education, Dean Karen Gallagher announced today.
Joan and Hal Haver of Incline Village, Nev., donated securities to the Kansas University Endowment Association for the School of Education's new home in Joseph R. Pearson Hall.
"We feel so good about giving for KU," Joan Haver said. "I know that this new facility has always been a dream for the school, and we are so excited that we can be part of that growth."
Gallagher thanked the Havers for their continuing commitment to the school.
"Supporting the KU School of Education is nothing new to Joan and Hal Haver," Gallagher said. "They have provided numerous scholarships to education students over the years through the Joan Pelton Haver Scholarship In Education fund. Their more recent gift to the Pearson Initiative to support the school's new home is one more example of their generosity and commitment to the school. We are very grateful to the Havers for their gift and for making Pearson Hall one of their top priorities."
Faculty and staff began moving into the new building July 31.
Joan Haver was born in Neodesha. She and her family lived in Independence, Kan., and Oklahoma before settling in Caldwell, where she graduated from high school.
She received a bachelor's degree in education from KU in 1952. As a KU student, she was a Watkins Hall Scholar and president of the Physical Education Club. Following graduation, Haver taught physical education for many years in Ponca City, Okla. She also was involved in several business ventures and worked as an art teacher and painter. Hal Haver received a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Iowa in 1956. He is a retired banker.
The couple was married in 1991. Joan Haver has three children from a previous marriage, and Hal Haver has two children from a previous marriage.
The Havers are longtime supporters of the School of Education, for which Joan Haver established the Joan Pelton Haver Scholarship In Education fund for undergraduates from Kansas with a preference for female students.
Joan Haver is a member of the KU Alumni Association and a life member of the Chancellors Club, KU Endowment's major-donor organization. She also is a former member of the School of Education's national advisory board. The Havers, who spend part of the year in Palm Desert, Calif., travel extensively and enjoy playing golf and bridge.
The KU Endowment Association is the official fund-raising and fund-management organization 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.