March 12, 2002

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

Leawood couple to give $1.2 million gift to KU

LAWRENCE -- A Leawood couple whose three children graduated from the University of Kansas has planned to give more than $1.2 million for unrestricted purposes, athletics and three KU professional schools, Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced today.

KU alumnus Joe C. Morris, business '61, and his wife, Susan A. Morris, have established a charitable remainder trust at the Kansas University Endowment Association that will provide an income for the couple until their deaths, when it will be distributed for KU. About one-half of the gift is unrestricted, which means it will be allocated to areas of the greatest need according to the priorities set forth by KU's chancellor. One-third of the gift will support athletics, and the remainder will be divided among the KU schools of business, architecture and journalism, where their children studied.

In addition to the trust, the couple pledged $100,000 over the next four years to support coaching excellence in KU's men's basketball.

Both gifts count toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history.

Hemenway commended the Morrises for their plans to provide unrestricted funds for KU.

"Because they are so flexible, unrestricted gifts are among the most valuable forms of support," he said. "We are delighted that Joe and Susan recognize the need for such funds. Combined with their additional support for athletics, business, architecture and journalism, the Morris family has pledged to make a major impact on the quality of KU's programs."

KU has been an important part of the couple's lives, Joe Morris said.

"Not only is KU a great educational institution, but thanks to the university we enjoy many wonderful, meaningful lifelong relationships with special people," he said. "Many of these relationships have developed over the years because of our active involvement with KU. Our gifts reflect that KU is very special to us."

Joe Morris also said his experience as a KU Endowment trustee and as a member of the association's finance committee helped him and his wife realize the need for unrestricted support.

An Emporia native, Joe attended the Indiana University Graduate School of Business and served for three years as a hospital administrator in the U.S. Air Force before beginning his 35-year career in banking and finance. He is a past chairman of Western Financial/Columbia Savings of Kansas and a former senior vice president of Minneapolis, Minn.-based Metropolitan Financial Corporation. He also is a past chairman of Commercial Guaranty Bancshares of Overland Park and of the U.S. League of Savings Institutions. Currently, he is the chairman of the Capital Corp. LLC of Overland Park.

Susan, who was born and raised in Emporia, attended Emporia State University. A former real estate agent for J.D. Reece Realtors in Leawood, she is a trustee of the Emporia State University Foundation and a member of the KU First athletics campaign committee. She and her husband have three sons: Joseph, business '88; David, architecture '91; and Scott, journalism '93.

KU Endowment is conducting KU First on behalf of KU through 2004 to raise funds for scholarships, fellowships, professorships, capital projects and program support.

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.