June 27, 2001

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

KC ad agency honors founder with scholarship

LAWRENCE -- With a gift of $25,000, the advertising and marketing firm of Barkley Evergreen & Partners Inc. has established a scholarship for students in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Dean James K. Gentry announced today.

The gift to the Kansas University Endowment Association honors the Kansas City advertising agency's founder and chairman, Bill Fromm, with a scholarship in his name. The scholarship will be awarded annually to an academically qualified junior or senior who is pursuing a degree in advertising or business communications.

Gentry said the scholarship was an excellent way to recognize Fromm's 40 years of service in advertising.

"Bill Fromm has had a major impact on advertising," Gentry said, "and we are delighted that Barkley Evergreen employees are recognizing Bill's achievements with this scholarship."

Employees at Barkley Evergreen recently bought the company from Fromm, who founded it in 1964. Michael Swenson, a 1978 graduate of the school and president of the public relations firm of the agency, said staff members wanted to give Fromm a unique gift. Because the company has many KU fans and alumni on staff, a gift for KU is a terrific way to honor Fromm, Swenson said.

Barkley Evergreen has also provided contributions for Alzheimer's disease research and for KANU-FM.

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.