KU News Release

KU Endowment board elects new trustees

LAWRENCE — At its 115th annual meeting Oct. 6, the KU Endowment Board of Trustees named a new chair and elected two new trustees.

The board elected Kurt D.Watson of Andover as chair and elected new trustees Charles E. Heath of Lawrence and Tom L. Kivisto of Tulsa, Okla.

Watson graduated from KU in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He is president and chief operating officer of IMA Financial Group Inc., a Wichita insurance company.

Heath graduated from KU in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and in 1966 with a master’s of business administration. He is retired from Employers Reinsurance Corp. in Overland Park, where he was vice president. He is a trustee and former chair of the Board of Trustees of Baker University and is former president of the Kansas City Society of Financial Analysts.

Kivisto graduated from KU in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He was a basketball letterman and coached KU women’s tennis in 1977. He is chairman, CEO and president of SemGroup LP in Tulsa, one of the 10 largest privately held companies in the United States.

The board comprises up to 75 trustees who represent and support KU around the country. Their duties include setting policy on fundraising and asset management, and serving on committees that provide recommendations for KU Endowment programs and activities.

KU Endowment is the independent, nonprofit organization that is the official fundraising 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.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.