mourns not only a great benefactress but a beloved friend.” Many stores in downtown Lawrence closed for part of the day of her funeral as a gesture of respect. When she died, the value of the gifts she had made to KU was $366,000 ($5.8 million in today’s dollars). Gifts to the city totaled another $375,000 ($5.9 million today). But in a very real way, she was just getting warmed up.
Lizzie’s legacy
Bountiful bequest
• Land acquisitions doubling the size of campuses both in Lawrence and at the Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.
If anyone ever made an estate plan, Elizabeth Watkins did. She knew she would have a large estate and gave a great deal of thought to what to do with it. She had served several years as a trustee of KU Endowment and was convinced of its effectiveness. Years before she died, she signed an agreement setting out terms for the passage of real estate to KU Endowment, stipulating that Dick Williams would continue as manager of the properties as long as he cared to do it. As for the uses of income from her bequest, she stated explicitly that, with a few exceptions, she would leave those decisions to the good judgment of KU Endowment trustees. Her will included specific bequests for KU’s benefit. She gave The Outlook, with money for its improvement, to the state, to become the Chancellor’s residence. She established trusts for Watkins Hospital and Miller and Watkins Halls at the First National Bank of Kansas City (now Bank of America). She gave all her Kansas real estate outside Douglas County to KU Endowment, for unrestricted support of the university. This last item may not sound like much, but it amounted to more than 23,000 acres in about 20 counties, and it transformed KU Endowment overnight. Today, the land is valued at $16.3 million and generates about $1.4 million in agricultural and mineral income every year. The Watkins funds have supported literally dozens of activities at KU (see “Lizzie’s legacy”, at right, for a partial list). Like the many women who have made the most of an opportunity at Watkins or Miller hall, KU Endowment accepted a gift from Elizabeth Watkins and used it to advantage, to build a greater university. Thank you, Lady Bountiful, and happy birthday! Sources: University Archives, Spencer Research Library Historic Mount Oread Friends Mary Burchill, Lawrence historian Sean Williams, grandson of Dick Williams KUHistory.com/KU Memorial Unions Archival photos, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries Contemporary photos, courtesy Doug Koch, Jaclyn Lippelmann / KU University Relations
Over the years, Watkins funds have been used to support just about every activity connected with the university: scholarships, professorships, real estate acquisitions, buildings, equipment, research support, etc. In addition to the five buildings still in service, her legacy lives all across KU campuses in ways big and small. It has helped to pay for:
• The prestigious Watkins-Berger Scholarship • Danforth Chapel; it was the largest single source of support for construction • Stephenson, Pearson and Sellards scholarship halls; it partially funded their construction • The Templin Bell, the largest in the Campanile, which tolls the hours • The Westminster chimes in the Campanile, which ring the quarter-hours • The case-study method of education was developed with support of a Watkins grant • Study abroad program development • Faculty grants for research abroad • The feasibility study that led to the Greater University Fund • The Watkins Staff Revolving Fund, which provides interest-free loans to cover staff travel expenses (a big morale booster)
Watkins values, then and now year given
value then
Watkins Hall
1926
$75,000
$.94 million
Watkins Hospital
1932
$175,000
$2.83 million
Miller Hall
1937
$75,000
$1.15 million
Watkins Home
1937
$41,000
$.63 million
The Outlook
1939
$25,000
$2.5 million
Campus support
1939
$520,000
$8.3 million
Kansas real estate
1939
$230,000
$16.3 million
$1.14 million
$32.65 million
Totals
current equivalent*
*Values of The Outlook and real estate are current appraisals; other values reflect inflation of original values, not necessarily actual current values.
KUENDOWMENT.ORG |
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