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

Former professor and wife establish gift for KU School of Medicine

KANSAS CITY -- A University of Kansas professor emeritus and his wife have pledged two gifts for the KU School of Medicine, Executive Dean Deborah K. Powell announced today.

Stanley and Beth Friesen of Prairie Village gave securities to the Kansas University Endowment Association to create a charitable gift annuity that will provide a lifetime income for the Friesens. Upon their deaths, the annuity will establish the Stanley R. Friesen, M.D., Ph.D., and Beth H. Friesen Fund, with a preference to support an annual lectureship for the Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine. Through their estate plans, the Friesens have also pledged support for the Department of Surgery. The Friesens requested that the amount of their gifts not be disclosed.

Stanley Friesen is a professor emeritus of both departments.

"It is always especially meaningful when a faculty family makes a gift to the School of Medicine," Powell said. "Stan and Beth Friesen are wonderful, committed people who have supported the school with their time and talents for many years. The fact that they have now chosen to give this special and generous gift to the school, faculty and students is another example of their commitment and another cause for our gratitude."

Stanley Friesen stressed that all medical students benefit from learning about the humanities.

"The Department of History and Philosophy of Medicine is a department that adds the frosting on the cake of a medical student's education," he said. "A strong background in the humanities helps them to understand patients fully, and makes for a more satisfactory life."

Stanley Friesen earned a bachelor's degree from the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1940. He completed his degree in medicine at KU in 1943, and earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Minnesota in 1949. He was a professor of surgery from 1949 until 1989, and a lecturer and a professor of the history and philosophy of medicine from 1987 until 1989, when he retired. He is the author of the recent book "Erasmus: Paradigm of Renaissance Humanism."

Beth Friesen holds an associate's degree from Stephens College in Columbia, Mo. In 1940, she graduated from Wichita State University with a bachelor's degree in education and English literature. She has been active in many civic and philanthropic organizations including the Symphony Women's Association and the Mission Hills chapter of P.E.O. She and Stanley Friesen have four children, Dr. Robert Friesen, S. Richard Friesen, Kathleen Friesen Westcott and Margaret "Peggy" Friesen Scanlon.

The Friesens have supported many areas of KU, including surgical research, the Spencer Museum of Art and the Lied Center. They are members of the Chancellors Club, KU Endowment's major donor-recognition organization, and of the Watkins Society, which honors donors of planned gifts.

The Kansas University Endowment Association is an independent, non-profit organization serving as the official fund-raising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university and one of the largest.