Feb. 13, 2003

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

Statement by Chancellor Hemenway on the death today of Bob Billings

The following is a statement by University of Kansas Chancellor Robert Hemenway on the death this morning of Bob Billings:

"Bob Billings was an extraordinary man with many talents. He has left a mark not only on the University of Kansas and the Jayhawk community but on Lawrence and the region. We will miss him dearly."

BIOGRAPHY: Bob Billings was a lifelong Jayhawk
A Russell native, Billings enrolled at KU in 1955 and graduated in 1959 with a degree in economics. While a student, he was a guard on the KU basketball team from 1956 to 1959 and was a letter winner in 1957, 1958 and 1959. He played on the 1956-57 team, led by Wilt Chamberlain, that played in the NCAA Final Four.

He also was KU student body president in 1957-58.

After graduation, Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe appointed Billings director of the KU Aids and Awards Office, now the Office of Student Financial Aid, from 1960 to 1970.

Billings was a member of many boards and committees at KU, including the Kansas Alumni Association's National Board of Directors from 1981 to 1986; the School of Business Board of Advisers since 1980; the KU Athletics Corp. board from 1974 to 1977; and the Alumni Association's Jayhawk Society.

In 1988 he received the Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor given by the university and the Alumni Association for service to humanity. He also received the association's Fred Ellsworth Medallion in 1984.