Courtesy WSU FoundationA gift of nearly $7.5 million from the estate of Doris and Ralph Klose will fund scholarships for Wichita State University students preparing to teach science and math. It is the largest known gift in the nation to fund scholarships with this emphasis. The gift is the third single largest to the university and the largest to the College of Education, said WSU Foundation president and CEO Elizabeth King at a May 26 news conference.
Elizabeth King
"Doris was exceptionally pleased to be able to establish this scholarship during her lifetime and it enabled us to fully grasp what she felt was important, and that was preparing students to become teachers of science and math," said King. "She felt that the emphasis on math and science education in the U.S. educational system has been on a decline and she wanted this scholarship to put a renewed emphasis on quality teachers in those areas."
The Klose endowment will fund about 20 scholarships yearly to cover full tuition, fees and books for WSU secondary science and mathematics teacher candidates in their junior and senior years. The recipients will commit to two years of teaching within five years of receiving a Klose scholarship. The endowment also will provide for partial salary support for a College of Education scholarship coordinator to work with the recruiting and retention of Klose Scholars. The first scholarships will be awarded in fall 2011 with a payout of $220,000.
"At Wichita State, we are always looking forward — anticipating the needs of our students and thus the needs of our colleges," said WSU President Donald Beggs. "With the current economy and the lack of secondary teachers, this gift from Doris and Ralph Klose will be a turning point. It will enable us to recruit and keep the students who will make the best teachers for tomorrow's students."
"This endowment will make science and math teacher preparation a priority at WSU," said Sharon Iorio, dean of the WSU College of Education. "The demand for secondary teachers of science and mathematics is great and is continuing to grow, in spite of cuts in school budgets across Kansas and the nation. In these challenging economic times, the College of Education and the WSU community are grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Klose for their commitment to science/math teacher education. Their generosity will ensure that others will be able to benefit for many years to come."
In 1944, Doris Klose earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education, majoring in secondary education-business education, and Ralph Klose earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in economics in 1948 at the University of Wichita, now Wichita State University.
"Ralph and Doris had a real love for WSU," said John Vetter, partner for Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP and the Kloses' attorney, "and maybe more importantly, a real appreciation for the education WSU had provided, and they wanted that opportunity to be afforded other students."