February 14, 2001 | Editor's note: Hometowns are Sunnyvale, Calif., Salina and Wichita.

Contact: John Scarffe, KU Endowment Association, (785) 832-7336.

$118,000 gift funds dinosaur exhibit, study abroad

LAWRENCE -- A belief that studying abroad has the power to broaden one's perspective on life and a fascination with dinosaurs helped inspire a gift of more than $118,000 from a Silicon Valley couple.

One half of the gift of Microsoft securities from Tom and Jann Crawford Rudkin of Sunnyvale, Calif., to the Kansas University Endowment Association creates the Undergraduate Study Abroad Scholarship Fund. The fund provides scholarships for students who participate in Western civilization and other language and culture programs of the KU Office of Study Abroad. KU junior Alissa McCurley, a Fort Scott psychology major who will study in Italy and France during the spring 2001 semester, has received the first scholarship.

The remainder of the Rudkins' gift will provide funding for two areas of the KU Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, including the assembly of one of three Camarasaurus dinosaurs. The exhibit of the dinosaur, a long-necked, plant-eating animal almost 50 feet long, is expected to be completed in the spring.

The gift also funds scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing international research through the museum's Biodiversity Research Center.

The fall 2000 recipient of the Rudkin scholarship, KU junior Lance Arvidson of Lawrence, worked with faculty members and graduate students on the biology of mammals in a pristine cloud forest in Costa Rica.

Susan Gronbeck-Tedesco, study abroad interim director, emphasized the affect of the scholarship fund established by the Rudkins.

"The Rudkins have created a mechanism that will help a broader range of KU students participate in international study," she said. "We are very grateful for their leadership in study abroad."

Leonard Krishtalka, director of the Natural History Museum, praised the Rudkins' dedication to the museum's role in biodiversity research and education.

"Tom and Jann Rudkin have given the museum three wonderful gifts," Krishtalka said. "The first will foster the next generation of scientists by enabling undergraduates to participate in cutting-edge research projects worldwide; the second will bring a one-of-a-kind dinosaur discovery to all of our visitors; and their third gift is their unstinting service on the museum's board, helping us to fulfill our mission to KU and the people of Kansas."

Tom Rudkin said the gift represented the interests of his wife, who has had a lifelong fascination with dinosaurs, as well as both of their interests in study abroad. He said spending his junior year in Bordeaux, France, was the single most important part of his education.

Several years later, the Rudkins and their daughter, Heather, spent one summer living in Paris. While she was a student at the University of California at Berkeley, Heather Rudkin also spent a summer in Paris to study Parisian architecture. Tom Rudkin said the experiences helped to broaden their view of the world.

Tom Rudkin earned a degree in mathematics at KU in 1973. As a KU student, he was a resident of Battenfeld Scholarship Hall and was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon and Phi Beta Kappa. After earning a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin, the software engineer worked for Intel and Microsoft, and he was one of the two engineers who wrote the first version of the software program PowerPoint. He is now self-employed as a software consultant.

In 1973, Jann Rudkin graduated with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and anthropology from KU, where she was a resident of Douthart and Miller scholarship halls and president of the All Scholarship Hall Council. She earned a master's degree in cybernetic systems in 1984 from San Jose State University, and is now self-employed as an information designer.

Both Jann and Tom Rudkin volunteer for American Youth Soccer Organization teams, and enjoy golfing, biking and travel. In September 1999, the couple went on a 13-day biking tour in Southwest France. At KU, the Rudkins are both members of the Natural History Museum board.

The Rudkins have family ties to KU. Tom Rudkin is the son of Wichita residents Charlotte and Robert Rudkin, who graduated from KU in 1948. Jann Rudkin is the daughter of Salina residents Wilna and Robert Crawford, who graduated from KU in 1949.

In addition to their years of support for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Rudkins established the Thomas A. and Janette Rudkin Development Fund in 1995. The fund supported the costs of wiring and infrastructure improvements for the KU scholarship halls, giving scholarship hall residents fast access to the Internet in their rooms. The fund continues to provide computer software and hardware upgrades for the scholarship halls.

The Rudkins are lifetime members of the Chancellors Club, KU Endowment's major-donor organization, and of the Elizabeth Watkins Society, which recognizes donors of planned gifts. They are also lifetime members of the Kansas Alumni Association.

KU Endowment is an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management foundation for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the oldest foundation of its kind at a public university in the United States and one of the largest.