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Endowment uses their KU Giving Magazine to promote donation. By redesigning the magazine, they were able to show more photography and make the whole publication fit their readership by being both dynamic and sophisticated.

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Page 1: KU Giving: Magazine Redesign
Page 2: KU Giving: Magazine Redesign

2 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

“Twilight drops her curtain down, and pins it with a star.”— Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author

Page 3: KU Giving: Magazine Redesign

3KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

Snapshots

The Best-Laid Plans

To Learn, Teach and Lead

No Greater Confidence

Ten Year Toast

Annual Report

Past & Present

p. 4

p. 6

p. 7

p. 8

p. 9

p. 22

p. 23

Departments

Features

Ancient, Current & Future

KU’s Biodiversity Institute holds almost 9 million such specimens

of animals, plants and fossil material, collected in Douglas County

and across seven continents over 140 years. p. 10

To Clear Earth’s Eye

For a hundred years, it has reminded those who seek tranquility

of the importance of balance, nature and beauty in our daily lives.

p. 18

Page 4: KU Giving: Magazine Redesign

4 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

“This fund is a quick way to knock

down a barrier that is stopping some-

one from being successful. We are

helping people through urgent, mo-

mentary crises. There is no big ap-

plication or lots of reviews. It’s very

different from the other funding the

university does.”

Bill and Francie Stoner, B.A. 1972, Mi-

crobiology, B.S. 1973, Medical Tech-

nology. Weston, Mo. $20,329 — for the

KU Women 4 KU Women Fund. $19,274

— for the Alan Voos Memorial Scholar-

ship Fund, Clinical Lab Science

1

3

2

5

4

Snapshots

WHY I GIVE.

“Our family has a long history with

KU. We’ve had more than 15 gradu-

ates spanning three generations, and

my brother was a professor of phys-

ics. This gift recognizes the enormous

lifelong benefits that each of us has

received from the university, based on

our diverse experiences during those

innumerable campus years.”

John M. Prosser, BS Architecture 1955,

and Dr. Ann C. Prosser. Denver, Colo.

Gift-in-kind to the Spencer Museum

of Art, a painting by Richard Schmid

titled View of My Studio (in Connecti-

cut) from the North

“I believe future engineers need be

prepared to jump into a job when they

graduate and, for many, this means

they will need to be well versed in

programming for future mobile com-

puting. Low-cost smartphones and

tablets are revolutionizing the world’s

access to information, and they need

to be ready.”

Brian A. McClendon, B.S. Engineering

1986, and Beth Ellyn McClendon Por-

tola Valley, Calif. $50,000 — to supply

free Samsung/Droid tablet computers

for entering freshmen in the School of

Engineering’s Department of Electrical

Engineering and Computer Science

“We hope, in the long run, that the pro-

gram in Salina will provide more doc-

tors who want to remain in northwest

Kansas. It’s a good sign that more than

half of Wichita’s medical graduates

have stayed in Kansas.”

Trustees of the Dane G. Hansen Foun-

dation.Logan, Kan. $150,000 — to the

KU School of Medicine-Salina; $50,000

in scholarships for students interested

in practicing in northwest Kansas, and

$100,000 for improved medical educa-

tion facilities

“The Dole Center is a fantastic forum.

You can see, first hand, people who

are on the world stage making critical

decisions, taking different sides of is-

sues where they can be heard without

screaming back and forth — exactly

what I imagine Senator Dole wanted.

Maybe it can help show the next gen-

erations of leaders a new way to com-

municate and solve problems.”

Brian C. King, BGS, history 1998, and

Barbara McLiney King, BGS psychol-

ogy 1995. Leawood, Kan. $30,000 —

to the King Family Opportunity Fund,

Dole Institute of Politics

1 2

3

4

5

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5KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

“When I think about things I’d like to

do with the rest of my life — my bucket

list — I’m really doing what I want to

do. It’s getting this scholarship set up

and writing Polly’s story. I don’t have

any trips I want to go on, and I don’t

want to buy a new BMW. But it would

be wonderful to know the name of the

first person who receives this scholar-

ship, to know who it is and a little bit

about them, I’d love that.”

Thomas Lovitt, bachelor’s in music

education 1952, master’s in music ed-

ucation 1960, Ph.D. in education 1966

Kirkland, Wash. $60,500 — to estab-

lish a scholarship for music majors who

participate in KU choirs in memory of

his wife, KU alumna Polly Owen Lovitt,

bachelor’s in music education 1952,

master’s in education 1966.

“We both feel we never would have

made it through without the scholar-

ship halls. They gave us a start and a

great orientation.”

Robert Nelson, Ph.D. 1984, Radia-

tion Biophysics, and Lois Nelson,

B.A. 1978, Anthropology. Kennewick,

Wash. $100,000 by Charitable Remain-

der Unitrust; they directed the trust’s

income to their previously established

scholarships for residents of Miller and

Pearson scholarship halls.

“The kids from southeast Kansas gener-

ally aren’t from wealthy families. I was

raised in Neodesha, and I had a high

school teacher who was a KU graduate.

He occasionally brought us up here for

games. I’ve been a fan ever since.”

Lawrence V. Houchins. Des Moines,

Iowa. $50,000 — added to a Chari-

table Remainder Trust he established

in 1998, now valued at $521,100; for

scholarships, with preference to stu-

dents from Neodesha, Wilson County

or southeast Kansas.

6

7

9

8

10

“KU and the School of Pharmacy start-

ed me on wonderful lifetime career

path. Barbara and I are proud to be a

small part of KU’s growth and service

to the state.”

David O. Weaver, B.S. Pharmacy 1967,

and Barbara Weaver. Aurora, Colo.

$50,000 — School of Pharmacy

“Many individuals, including both of

us, have been helped by the intellec-

tual and medical resources offered at

KU and KU Medical Center. We hope

that our gift will benefit the university

in continuing to assist the well-being of

individuals in the future.”

Stata Norton Ringle, professor emeri-

tus of Pharmacology, Toxicology,

and Therapeutics, and former dean

of the School of Health Professions;

and Dr. David A. Ringle, retired, Prin-

cipal Physiologist, Midwest Research

Institute; Leawood, Kan. $244,380 —

Charitable Gift Annuity, divided evenly

between the School of Health Profes-

sions, Clendening History of Medicine

Library and Spencer Research Library

6

7

8

9

10

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6 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

WHY I GIVE.

The Best-Laid PlansA First-of-Its-Kind Professorship

KU’s Department of Urban Planning has its first endowed professorship. Alan Black, professor emeritus of urban planning, recently created it with a $1.4 million estate commitment to KU Endowment.

Black, who worked at KU from 1981 to 2007, specializes in transportation plan-ning, particularly urban mass transit. He directed the graduate program in urban planning from 1981 to 1986. He said he enjoyed his career at KU, especially working with students.

Black earned three college degrees — a bachelor’s from Harvard University, where his father was a professor; a master’s from the University of California, Berke-ley; and a doctorate from Cornell University.

In addition to his gift commitment for the professorship, Black has contributed $158,000 to a scholarship he created for urban planning graduate students, which is named after him. Since 1998, the scholarship has provided nearly $50,000 in support to 12 students.

While nationally known and published for his urban planning work at KU, Black also has been active locally. He has long served on the Land Use Committee of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County, both as a member and chair; on the Public Transit Advisory Committee for the city of Lawrence; and on Douglas County’s Air Quality Committee. In the 1990s, he actively campaigned for the creation of a bus system in Lawrence, which started in December 2000. He also volunteers as a reader for Kansas Audio-Reader Network, a reading and information service for the blind and visually impaired.

Alan Black’s estate commitment will

create a professorship in the Depart-

ment of Urban Planning. Chancellor

Bernadette Gray-Little said his gift

was a milestone for the program, for

the School and for KU. He worked in

Marvin Hall for more than 25 years.

“I retired in 2007, but the de-

partment was unable to hire

a replacement until this year.

It was clear that a professor-

ship was a major need. I live in

the same house that I paid off

years ago, and I drive a Toyota

Celica that I bought new in

1986. It still runs pretty well.

That saves me a lot of money.”

Alan Black

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7KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

An estate gift will boost the study of

leadership and organizational trans-

formation in the School of Education.

To Learn, Teach and LeadHistoric Scholarship For Education

A University of Kansas alumnus and his wife have made a $2.5 million estate com-mitment to establish an endowed scholarship for KU’s School of Education. The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, have had strong ties to KU’s School of Education through both graduate teaching and the supervision of elementary stu-dent teachers.

The gift is the largest in the school’s history.The planned gift will include funding for specialized work in acquiring leader-

ship skills connected to the organizational change disciplines first outlined in Peter Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organiza-tion. This book provides guidelines to lead organizations in transforming rigid hier-archies into more fluid and responsive systems.

“We thank the donors for this generous gift,” said Rick Ginsberg, dean of education. “The intent is to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to be supported in their quest to become leaders with organizational understanding and appreciation of the larger system in which their work is embedded. Once the schol-arship program is in place, it will attract the best students for professional studies in education at KU.”

These donors made their gift part of their

estate planning. Like them, many donors

find that they can create more opportuni-

ties, and give more back to KU, than they

thought possible. The key? Planned gifts,

several types of gifts that are arranged now

to benefit the university later.

Planned giving can reduce taxes on your

income and estate, resulting in a larger gift.

Bequests are the most common planned

gifts, but several other kinds exist. Some

bring additional advantages, such as steady,

secure income for you. These gifts are very

flexible and can serve KU, and you, in many

ways. Planned gifts to KU Endowment can

support KU, the KU Medical Center, the

School of Medicine-Wichita, the School of

Medicine-Salina, the KU Edwards Campus or

The University of Kansas Hospital.

Your attorney and tax adviser can help

you determine how various options might

affect your personal tax and estate-plan-

ning objectives. If you’ve already included

KU in your estate plan, contact us to ensure

that your gift is properly recognized and

that your intentions are carried out. We

honor all requests for anonymity.

To learn more about planned gifts, please

visit kuendowment.org/plannedgifts or con-

tact Dan Almanza, director of gift planning

at the main campus (785-832-7341 ordal-

[email protected]) or Nell Lucas,

assistant vice president for medical devel-

opment at the KU Medical Center (913-588-

5551 [email protected]).

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8 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

WHY I GIVE.

Jenna Mittelmeier and Carolyn Haller

received support from the Claudia

Pendleton Johnson Scholarship

this year. They’re “studying” in the

Spencer Research Library’s William

Savage Johnson Room, another gift

to KU from Mrs. Johnson. Mittelmeier

is a junior from Iola, Kan., majoring

in elementary education; Haller is a

junior from Alma, Kan., majoring in

social welfare.

No Greater ConfidenceClaudia Pendleton Johnson died in 1971, but she’s helping KU students today. She was a 1908 KU graduate and lifelong Lawrence resident. Her husband, William Savage Johnson, was a longtime professor and chair of the Department of English. She established the Claudia Pendleton Johnson Scholarship fund in 1961 with a gift of five shares of IBM stock, book value about $2,700. She requested that the scholarship not be announced or awarded until after her death. She made numerous additional contributions before her death, by which time the fund’s book value had grown to $15,664. She designated the scholarship for “deserving female students.” The first recipi-ents, in 1971, were Sharon Kepner, B.A. English ’86, and Linda B. Eberspacher, B.A. English and French ’72. Both were outstanding students in English.Mrs. Johnson gave several other significant gifts, including her husband’s book col-lection and a room in the Spencer Research Library to honor him, as well as dozens of smaller gifts in memory of friends and colleagues. In 1971, KU Endowment Ex-ecutive Secretary Irvin Youngberg wrote to her that his records showed she had made 109 gifts since 1948. On the occasion of her commitment to establish the scholarship, Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe wrote: “I am especially gratified when an individual, as close to the university and as well informed about it as you are, gives generous support to it, for no greater confidence could be expressed in the work of our staff.”

Claudia Pendleton Johnson Scholarship Fund

original value, 1971

scholarships awarded since 1971

value of scholarships

current value, 2010

$15,664

120+

$85,000+

$77,000

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9KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

AMONG FRIENDS.

Tom and Judy Bowser (left), honorary

chairs, and Mark and Mary Jorgenson,

event co-chairs, hosted the 10th an-

nual Treads & Threads. Tom Bowser

recently retired as president and

CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of

Kansas City, and Mark Jorgenson is

president and CEO of U.S. Bank.

Ten Year ToastThis year saw the 10th anniversary of Treads and Threads, an annual black-tie event at the Kansas Speedway to benefit The University of Kansas Hospital. Donors set records in both attendance and fundraising numbers, with 3,600 guests and $785,000 raised to support cancer care at The University of Kansas Cancer Center. U.S. Bank was enter-tainment sponsor, presenting country music star and Kansas native Martina McBride, and Kansas City-based law firm Polsinelli Shugart PC was presenting sponsor.

VISIT KUENDOWMENT.PHANFARE.COM

Our online photo gallery is chock full of ’Hawks. Find yourself and KU friends at these recent events that brought the flock together:

Reception at Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Christina Hixson visits with Hixson Scholars

Nason Family Award for Excellence in Family Medicine Education

Chancellors Club pre-game brunch

Chancellors Club reception

Annual Meeting of KU Endowment Board of Trustees

Nov. 13

Oct. 27

Oct. 20

Oct. 1

Sept. 30

Sept. 30

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ANCIENT, CURRENT & FUTURE

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KU’S BIODIVERSITY INSTITUTE STUDIES THE LIFE OF THE PLANET

By Jen HumphreyPhotographs by Brian Goodman

Evidence of birds surrounds KU ornithologist Mark Robbins’ office in Dyche Hall: feathers, wings, preserved skins, skeletons — and eggshells.

Robbins moves to a cabinet and opens a drawer. It’s full of hollowed bird eggs nestled in clear boxes, each with a tiny, often handwritten label. He points out a pair of glossy blue eggs collected in Mexico: the Great Tinamus, a bird that lays multiple clutches hatched and tended by males. In another drawer sit large flecked eggs collected near Baldwin City, Kan.: the turkey vulture, a bird that soars Kansas skies.

Dozens of drawers in dozens of cabinets hold dozens of dozens of eggs, some of them 100 years old. Why keep them all? An example: Eggshells provided the key to unraveling the mysterious crashes in the populations of eagles, brown pelicans, peregrine falcons and other birds after World War II. Scientists compared the thickness of eggshells collected before the war to the shells of more recently laid eggs. They concluded that the pesticide DDT, widely used after the war, altered birds’ metabolism of calcium, leading to thin-shelled eggs and high mortality rates for chicks. The data helped drive an environmental

movement to ban DDT, and eventually the bird populations began to recover.

To Robbins, the cautionary tale told by old eggshells about DDT illustrates a key point about natural history collections: “We can never predict how these specimens will be used down the road,” he said. “We have a responsibility to care for them for the future.”

KU’s Biodiversity Institute holds almost 9 million such specimens of animals, plants and fossil material, collected in Douglas County and across seven continents over 140 years.

Each specimen can potentially unleash an enormous stream of information. A researcher who collects a bird, for example, will record the color of its feathers, eyes and toes, its sex, the location where it was found, even the contents of its stomach. Beyond the immediately obvious, scientists may analyze the bird’s DNA. Based on all these characteristics, they can determine the bird’s relationship to other species, to birds in its order, and to other animals living and extinct.

A deeper look might reveal parasites in the bird’s eyes, viruses in its liver or protozoa swimming in its blood.  Does the bird

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Hercules Beetle, Dynastes hercules

While many specimens in the collec-

tions came from far-flung places, in-

cluding this exotic-looking beetle from

Nicaragua, researchers also discover

and describe species in Kansas that are

new to science. In 2010, entomology

student Taro Eldredge found a new

species, Myrmedonota heliantha, in

the Baker Wetlands just south of Law-

rence — the only place where the tiny

carnivorous insect is known to exist.

carry disease? Where and how was it infected? Considering knowledge about the bird’s range, where will this disease occur next? Will it affect people?

The 120 research scientists and graduate students at the Biodiversity Institute study natural history collections to seek answers. The questions address the evolution of life on earth, prediction of changes in the future – and even our place in that future.

The KU Natural History Museum, housed in iconic Dyche Hall atop Mount Oread, is most people’s introduction to the Biodiversity Institute. An umbrella research organization cre-ated in 2005, the institute also includes 12 taxonomic research divisions, a research and collections hub for archaeology, a longtime KU unit dedicated to invertebrate paleontology, a biodiversity modeling and policy unit, and an informatics and software research division. It is the fourth-largest biodiversity enterprise in the country behind the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the Field Museum in Chicago.

Visitors to the KU Natural History Museum see impos-ing aquatic dinosaurs, the historic Panorama and many other exhibits spread across four floors. But less than 1 percent of the Biodiversity Institute’s collections of animals, plants and fossils is on display.

The best-seller you check out at your public library is the same as a copy you could check out at any other library. Same title, same content, multiplied across thousands of copies of the book. In natural history collections, however, every specimen in the “library” is unique.

Researchers collect many examples of a species because differences appear across time, age, sex and region, among other factors. Only with a full spectrum of examples can scientists fully explore the forces behind evolution and extinction. These days, information about every specimen collected is recorded in enormous databases that scientists worldwide use to answer questions about changes over time, location and species.

Scientists originally identified and classified species based on morphology — the specimen’s physical characteristics. Newer tools, including X-ray, CT scans, DNA analysis and a process called “clearing and staining,” yield information that can’t be gathered through observation of external features. To clear and stain a vertebrate, scientists first make the soft tissue translucent, then apply dyes to stain bones and hard tissue red and cartilage blue. The result allows close examination of skeletal details.

This Chilean ray also exemplifies the research outreach of natural history collections. Leo Smith, assistant curator of zoology at the Field Museum in Chicago, arranged to loan it to the KU Natural History Museum for an exhibit. Most of-

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House sparrow, Passer domesticus

About 100 years after European travel-

ers fanned across the globe with their

house sparrows in tow, KU ornithology

curator Richard Johnston and his stu-

dents amassed a diverse, global col-

lection of the birds to document their

many differences and adaptations.

Chilean Round Ray, Urotrygon chilensis

This cleared-and-stained ray was col-

lected in 1976 in El Salvador. The spe-

cies lives in shallow coastal water from

Chile to Mexico.

Atelopus spp.

When these frogs were collected in the

1960s, they were considered one spe-

cies based on their physical character-

istics. New analytic technologies have

shown they are at least four species,

some of which are now thought to be

extinct. The Biodiversity Institute will

have a greater capacity for genetic re-

search after a major $2 million labora-

tory expansion made possible by fed-

eral and state funds, to be completed

in 2014.

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Skeleton of platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus

Used for teaching students and research, this delicate platy-

pus skeleton is one of the few mounted skeletons of its kind.

The Biodiversity Institute, 2011

KU’s charter included creation of a “cabinet of

natural history”

Natural History Museum was expanded into the

Biodiversity Institute

Specimens in the institute’s collections

Archaeological artifacts in the collections

Annual visitors to the Natural History Museum

Biological collections worldwide using Specify,

software for specimen data that was developed

at the institute

Research scientists and staff

Graduate students

New species described in Entomology

New species described in Herpetology

KU buildings occupied by institute staff, stu-

dents and collections

Continents to which researchers have traveled

for expeditions since 2009

Percent of Biodiversity Institute specimens on

display in museum exhibits

1864

2005

9 million

1.2 million

50,000

385

60

50-60

41

17

7

7

.01

ten, institutions loan material to researchers at other muse-ums because no collection is complete, and scientists must look at many examples of a species to study it fully.

The KU Biodiversity Institute is one of the leading U.S. or-ganizations training the next generation of biodiversity scientists and evolutionary biologists. Its programs are compared favorably to those of Harvard and Berkeley, and it attracts students from all over the world.

Most of the 50 to 60 students in residence conduct collection-based research toward their master’s or doctoral degrees under the advisement of faculty-curators. They also are enrolled in the degree-granting programs of a KU department, such as ecology and evolutionary biology.

To fund their early research, including expedition expenses, students compete for research awards. The institute organizes the competition using processes that mimic applications for National Science Foundation grants. Annual gifts from many donors make this program possible and provide support for curatorial internships at the institute.

Biodiversity Institute alumni are encouraged to connect with other alumni via the Biodiversity Institute website. [biodiversity.ku.edu/alumni]

The Panorama of North American Animals wowed visi-tors to the Kansas pavilion at the 1893 Columbian Exposition,

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The polar bears, mountain goats and walrus that greet visi-

tors to the KU Natural History Museum are part of one of

KU’s most famous collections, and one of its oldest.

entists and evolutionary biologists. Its programs are compared favorably to those of Harvard and Berkeley, and it attracts students from all over the world.

Most of the 50 to 60 students in residence conduct collection-based re-search toward their master’s or doctoral degrees under the advisement of fac-ulty-curators. They also are enrolled in the degree-granting programs of a KU department, such as ecology and evolu-tionary biology.

To fund their early research, includ-ing expedition expenses, students com-pete for research awards. The institute organizes the competition using pro-cesses that mimic applications for Na-tional Science Foundation grants. An-nual gifts from many donors make this program possible and provide support

a world’s fair in Chicago. The naturalist Lewis Lindsay Dyche shipped seven railroad cars of gems from KU’s collections and painstakingly arranged them in a lifelike panorama. As many as 20,000 people came each day to see the examples of Dyche’s mastery of taxidermy. The acclaim these specimens earned for Kansas, and the need to better house the rest of KU’s burgeoning collections, helped Dyche lobby for a new, permanent building at the heart of KU’s early campus. Architects designed what is now known as Dyche Hall around the centerpiece Panorama.

Still on display almost 120 years after the fair, some of these specimens show their age. Animal hides that Dyche soaked in saltwater and arranged over wood, wire and clay mounts have begun to crack. In recent years exhibits staff have modified the Panorama, but previously the displays were exposed to fluores-cent light, dust and the vagaries of temperature and humidity.

About 95 percent of the Biodiversity Institute’s resources are tied to its research mission, much of it outside public awareness. But the collections displayed at the museum remain central to its mission to share knowledge of natural history with the world. This year, the institute seeks to raise funds to formally evaluate the Panorama’s needs and plan for its preservation, so that, just as the research collections are available in the decades to come, the Panorama will continue to wow museum visitors far into the future.

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Andrew Campbell, Herpetology Collection Manager at KU’s Biodiversity

Institute, holds a preserved specimen of one of the world’s largest frogs.

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“A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and ex-pressive feature. It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.” — Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Potter Lake offers an essential spot for contemplation amid the hustle and bustle of a busy campus. For a hundred years, it has reminded those who seek tranquility of the importance of bal-ance, nature and beauty in our daily lives.

The lake was built originally to supply water for fire protection of the growing KU campus. Work began in October 1910, and the lake was dedicated June 5, 1911. Opening ceremonies in-cluded a concert by the University Band, a water sports program organized by Athletic Director James Naismith, swimming races, a diving contest, water games and a canoe regatta. State Senator Thomas M. Potter, a former member of the Board of Regents, for whom the lake was named, attended.

By Charles HigginsonPhotographs by Steve Puppe

To Clear Earth’s Eye

For several years, a program took place at Potter Lake dur-ing commencement. A diving tower and springboard were in-stalled in 1914. By the mid-1920s, the municipal water supply to campus had been improved, eliminating the need for a fire-fighting reservoir. Questions arose as to whether the lake should be drained, but eventually it was left in a relatively natural state.

Over the years Potter Lake became a popular place for stu-dents seeking peace and quiet in the summer and ice-skating in the winter. A seven-hole golf course was constructed on the nearby slopes, but it was abandoned after World War II. A dance pavilion on the west slope, a gift of the class of 1943, hosted sock hops through the ’50s. It still exists, though in poor condition.

19KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

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By the late 1950s, the lake was noticeably silting in, reduc-ing its depth near the dam by ten feet. In 1958, the university drained and dredged the lake. Workers dug cars, tires, trash barrels and other debris out of the silt and built a silt-catching pond at the south (uphill) end. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the lake area was the scene of many protests and sit-ins protesting the Vietnam War and in favor of civil rights.

The lake continued to be plagued by pollution. In 1999, Pot-ter Lake made a list of 120 polluted bodies of water compiled by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. Algae harmful to animals and fish were found growing there. Another blow came in March 2000, when a transformer exploded behind Strong Hall, leaking oil that flowed through storm drains into the lake.

In 2008, students founded the Potter Lake Project to pro-mote restoration of the lake area. Over the past few years, the group has worked with faculty, staff and community members to remove excess aquatic vegetation, install aerators, dredge the lake, remove sediment and build a new sediment basin at the south end. Student Senate, the Office of the Chancellor, Facili-ties Operations and alumni donations provided funding.

Potter Lake continues to define the campus area west of the Campanile. A popular place to unwind, it has become one of the oldest and most beloved fixtures on the Hill. To maintain it for future generations, more work is needed.

$3,250

400 feet long,

60 feet at base,

8 feet at top

almost two acres

4 million gallons

1.6 million gallons

16 feet at dam

6 feet at dam

25-pound flathead catfish

(John Trager, 1992)

Potter Lake Stats

Cost to build dam:

Dam:

Lake area:

Original capacity:

Current capacity:

Original depth:

Current depth:

Record fish:

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Preserve Potter: Four Ways You Can HelpThe Potter Lake Project report is

based on 18 months of research and

scientific analysis by students, in

consultation with KU professors and

university and community profession-

als. You can help this multi-year effort

by supporting any of these elements

of the project plan.

Renovate the historic stone bridge and pathways. Renovation of the deteriorating bridge and pathways will ensure continued enjoyment of this campus icon for future generations and help to prevent further erosion.

Restore the Class of 1943 Dance Pavilion. Trim back vegetation, restore grill pits and picnic tables, replant flower bed with native flowering plants, and build a pathway to the parking area near Carruth-O’Leary Hall. Electrical power already has been restored to this site, which hosted many social functions 40 and more years ago. It remains a central location that offers views largely unchanged from its heyday.

Construct an ADA-compliant pathway from Memorial Stadium parking to Memorial Drive, with lighting every 75 – 100 feet. The topography to the west of the lake allows for ADA-

compliant sloping. This walkway will improve overall pedestrian movement through the central campus.

Renovate the historic pump house and overflow pipe. Not a glamor-ous project, but one that is critical to maintaining the future water quality and operation of the lake.

To support efforts to preserve Potter Lake for future generations of Jay-hawks, contact Dale Slusser at HYPER-LINK “mailto:[email protected][email protected] or 785-832-7458, or visit kuendowment.org/potter.

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22 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

$1.00

$1.40

$1.70

$1.60

$1.50

$1.10

$1.20

$1.80

$1.30

2009 2010 2011

Assets — Marketable securities compose 88 percent of KU

Endowment’s total assets; the balance is primarily real es-

tate owned by KU Endowment, loans to KU students and

faculty, and outstanding pledges.

Value of total assets — Book value of assets, plus unre-

alized gain or loss on marketable securities, according to

audited financial statements. Excludes unrealized apprecia-

tion of real estate and other special holdings.

Market value of total assets — Includes unrealized appre-

ciation of real estate and other special holdings.

Market value of endowed funds — Reported in accordance

with the Standards of the National Association of College

and University Business Officers.

Asset allocations — The Long-term Investment Program is

designed to maximize returns and minimize volatility. It is

diversified both by asset class and within asset classes.

Seeking increased diversification and enhanced returns,

the KU Endowment Investment Committee has gradually

increased allocations to international equities, intflation

protection and alternative investments. Alternatives in-

clude investment strategies intended to produce consistent

returns, with less volatility than the overall market.

Asset Values and Allocations

$1.48

$1.31

$1.20

$1.65

$1.48

$1.36

$1.25

$1.05

$.96

Value of total assets (billions)

2011

2010

2009

Market value of total assets (billions)

2011

2010

2009

Market value of endowed funds (billions)

2011

2010

2009

ANNUAL REPORT.

28.7%

23.6%

17.7%

15.5%

13.6%

.9%

100%

Asset allocations

international equity

domestic equity

fixed income

inflation protection

alternatives

cash and equivalents

total

28.7% 23.6%

17.7%13.6%

15.5%.9%

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23KU GIVING | WINTER 2012

PAST & PRESENT.

“Whooooooooooooooooooooo!” If

you’ve spent any time on KU’s Lawrence

campus, you know the sound.

Since 1912, a steam whistle has trumpeted the end of class periods on Mount Oread, often startling unprepared pedestrians. The original whistle sang from atop the campus power plant for about 30 years. The second, nicknamed “Big Tooter,” blew for about 60 years before suffering an irreparable crack Jan. 22, 2003. Lawrence surgeon Neal Lintecum (M.D. 1990) and his wife, Julie, pledged to cover acquisition of a third whistle. It was in-stalled in late April, breaking three months of end-of-class silence. The Lintecums’ gift honored Neal’s father, Dean, a 1955 KU ar-chitecture alumnus who directed his own architecture firm for more than 30 years. Dean Lintecum died two days before Big Tooter’s last blast. Neal said, “My fa-ther’s funeral was the day the whistle went out, so this gift makes a fitting way to carry on his memory.”

— Charles Higginson

The Blast That Lasts

Page 24: KU Giving: Magazine Redesign

24 KU GIVING | WINTER 2012Veterans’ Day vigil, KU’s Vietnam War Memorial, November 11, 2011