lisa scheller
One of two scholarships created by Bill and Shirley Wall will assist students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, whose mortar boards carry white tassels.
position. He became chairman and CEO in 2007. The company provides engineering, environmental and construction services worldwide. Mettie Thomopulos earned a law degree from the University of Liberia and a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Iowa. She is an administrator at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The couple met while Gregs Thomopulos was manager of Stanley’s operations in Liberia. The KU School of Engineering honored Gregs Thomopulos in 2002 with its Distinguished Engineering Service Award.
Why I Gave: “Through the generosity of an international scholarship program in the 1960s, I had free tuition. I felt that if I was ever in a position to offer the same for some needy student — somebody who had the competency to enter the engineering program but was constrained by tuition — my wife and I would repay.” — Gregs G. Thomopulos
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Gift: $300,000
Because they wanted to experience the joy their gift would bring, the grateful parents of two KU graduates gave sooner rather than later, creating two new scholarships. Seattle attorney Bill Wall and his wife, Shirley, designated their gift to KU through a program funded by ConocoPhillips. As a former board member of Burlington Resources, later acquired by ConocoPhillips, Bill Wall had the privilege of designating $1 million to a higher education charity upon his death. But after consultations with his wife and KU Endowment, he chose to make an early distribution valued at $550,000 to create the scholarships while he was still living. Their sons, alumni Daniel and David Wall, set the criteria for the scholarship funds. By making the gift now, the Walls can enjoy the philanthropy with their sons and meet the students who receive the scholarships. “I was glad to be in on the transfer, I must say,” said Bill Wall, who is 80. KU held a ceremony last fall to thank ConocoPhillips and the Wall family. “It was a beautiful day on the Hill,” Wall said. “One of those golden days.” Wall, former president, CEO and chairman of the board of Kansas Power and Light, said he and his wife will always be grateful for their sons’ KU education and for his career opportunities at KP&L. After leaving Kansas, Wall served on the board of directors
of Burlington Resources, which ConocoPhillips acquired in 2006. Wyandotte County students will be eligible for the Daniel Wall Engineering Scholarship. Daniel Wall, who lives in Mission, earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at KU in 1983. He works for the Environmental Protection Agency in Kansas City, Kan. A scholarship in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, named for David Wall, of Mount Vernon, Wash., is for graduates of Topeka High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in personnel administration at KU in 1983 and a law degree from Washburn University in Topeka.
Leig h Ann Hartma
courtesy/thom opulos
Gregs and Mettie Thomopulos
Scholarships will help students in engineering, liberal arts and sciences
KU honored Bill Wall, center, and sons Daniel, left , and David , at a gathering on Mount Oread last fall .
Gift: $550,000 Why I Gave: “I felt the bonds of our sons having graduated from and been enriched by the university, and our family owes a lot to the state of Kansas. We’d be strange people indeed if we didn’t recognize a debt.” — Bill Wall KUENDOWMENT.ORG |
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