An Official Employee Publication From the Office of University Relations

The KU First campaign has lived up to its name. A KU economics alumnus has given $10 million to the KU Endowment Association.

The gift is the largest single outright contribution to KU Endowment from an individual. Also the largest contribution from an individual in the history of the KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the gift counts toward the $500 million goal of KU First: Invest in Excellence, the largest fund-raising campaign in KU history.

Charley W. Oswald of Edina, Minn., gave KU Endowment $6 million for the KU Department of Economics, $3 million for unrestricted support for the university and $1 million for the School of Business. In recognition of the gift, the undergraduate economics program at KU has been named the Charles W. Oswald Program in Economics.

“Charley Oswald used his economics education from KU to launch a very successful career,” Hemenway said. “We are delighted that he has remained among our most loyal alumni, establishing many funds that will continue to benefit generations of economics and business students at KU.”

Of Oswald’s gift for the Department of Economics — a division of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences — $2 million established the Oswald Opportunity in Economics Fund. The fund may provide resources for such areas as graduate teaching fellowships, undergraduate scholarships and general program support. The remaining $4 million created two distinguished professorships in Oswald’s name, one in microeconomics and one in macroeconomics. The interest earned on both professorship funds will be eligible for matching support by the State of Kansas through the Kansas Partnership for Faculty of Distinction program.

One professorship fund already has helped the department recruit macroeconomics scholar William Barnett of Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., for the Oswald Distinguished Chair of Macroeconomics. He plans to join the department in August 2002.

Oswald’s gift will have a lasting impact on more than 1,500 students who enroll in economics classes each semester, said Joseph Sicilian, economics chair.

“Charley’s gift is inspirational,” Sicilian said. “For our faculty members, it is such a morale boost to have their program recognized by a gift of this caliber. For our students, this gift will mean scholarships, fellowships and instruction from some of the foremost economics scholars in the world. We are humbled and awed by the depth of this commitment, and we are inspired to elevate our program to the level of Charley’s vision.”

Oswald’s gift established two unrestricted funds, which can fund scholarships, provide materials and resources for faculty and buy state-of-the-art equipment.

A portion has helped cover travel costs for faculty members who want to pursue research abroad or attend international conferences.

He also funded the Charles W. Oswald Faculty Fellowships in Business. Over the next 10 years, the fellowship fund will provide six to 10 grants annually to business faculty members to help them pursue teaching and research activities.

“The Oswald Fellowships will reward the work of KU business faculty who are excelling in their teaching and research activities,” said Bill Fuerst, dean of the KU School of Business. “Oswald’s gift for the school will help the school and our faculty in seeking the goals established in our Plan for Excellence. On behalf of the school and the board of advisors, I want to thank Charley for this exceptional gift.”

Oswald grew up on Rotherwood Farm, his family’s dairy farm outside of Hutchinson. He served for two years in the U.S. Marines before enrolling at KU in 1948 and majoring in economics. After graduating from KU in 1951, Oswald earned a master’s degree in business administration in 1953 from Harvard University.

Oswald then rose through Jostens Corp. in Owatonna, Minn., ultimately serving as president from 1968 until 1970. After he left Jostens, Oswald became the chairman and chief executive officer at National Computer Systems Inc., a position he held from 1970 until 1994. In 1992, the company gave KU Endowment $250,000 to establish a business lectureship in Oswald’s name at the School of Business.