William L. Adams, the retired chair of Union Pacific Resources, has donated $200,000 for medicine, engineering, music and geology at KU, and the Donald P. and Byrd M. Kelly Foundation of Oak Park, Ill., has committed $50,000 for scholarships in the School of Business.
The gift of stock from Adams of Fort Worth, Texas, will be divided equally among the School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kan.; School of Engineering; the music division in the Department of Music and Dance; and the Department of Geology. The gift is for unrestricted support.
The medical school gift honors two brothers who live in Osage City: Dr. Paul D. Adams, who graduated from KU with a bachelor's degree in 1945 and a medical degree in 1947 and who is a member of the Endowment Association's board of trustees; and Dr. Dwight L. Adams, who graduated from KU with a bachelor's degree in 1953 and a medical degree in 1956.
The gift for engineering is in honor of three brothers: Ralph G. Adams, Sun City West, Ariz., a 1941 KU graduate with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering; Roger P. Adams, Burr Ridge, Ill., a KU graduate who received a bachelor's degree in engineering in 1950 and a master's degree in 1960; and Nolan F. Adams of Trophy Club, Texas, who attended KU but received his bachelor's degree from Kansas State University in 1955.
The music gift honors Berniece Adams Jupe, Carlotta, Calif., and Leora Adams DeFord, Glenview, Ill., a KU graduate in 1943 with a bachelor's degree in music education.
Longtime KU supporters, William and Betty Adams' donations have included annual gifts for the geology department since 1979. Their $80,300 gift during Campaign Kansas brought their unrestricted support for the geology department to $100,000.
Campaign Kansas was the Endowment Association's major fund-raising drive from 1987 to 1992.
The current $50,000 gift for geology will go to the department's newly established equipment-maintenance fund. A Clay Center native, William Adams received a bachelor's degree in geology from KU in 1951.
He is a longtime member and current chair of the KU Geology Associates Advisory Board. The Adamses are members of the Alumni Association; the Chancellors Club, KU's major-donor organization; and the Hill Society, for donors of $100,000 or more.
The Kelly Foundation was established in 1985. It provides financial support for organizations, institutions and individuals involved in providing or seeking formal education.
Thomas N. Kelly, secretary of the foundation, said KU is one of the few public universities to receive funding from the foundation.
Thomas Kelly studied business at KU with the class of 1985.
"I have a strong affiliation with KU," he said. "I think our foundation does the most good when we support excellence in the academic areas."
Byrd M. Kelly is president of the foundation and a primary donor to the foundation. She attended De Paul University in Chicago and served on its board of trustees until May 1993. Donald P. Kelly is chair of D.P. Kelly and Associates of Oak Brook. Formerly he was chair and chief executive officer of Beatrice Companies Inc., a major food processing company.
This gift continues a tradition of support for KU. Through the foundation and personal gifts, the Kellys have provided major support for athletics and humanities, including $250,000 previously donated for the School of Business.