Miró Conservation Campaign major donors
Thank you for contributing to the Miró Conservation Campaign.
(as of October 13, 2011)
$25,000
Joan Beren
Linda & Doug Branter
Steve Clark
Delta Dental
Emprise Bank
Eric Engstrom
Alan Fearey
Sonia Greteman & Chris Bruner
Ed Healy
Elizabeth & Don King
Jacque & Sam Kouri
Ed Lincoln
John and Barbara McCune
Jane McHugh
Mike & Dee Michaelis
John Morse
Bob & Nancy Schwann
Chris Shank & Anna Anderson
Ralph & Sue Vautravers
Richard Will
$50,000
Mickey Armstrong ’45
To say that Mickey Armstrong ’45 is dedicated to Wichita State University would be an understatement. She and her late husband, Pete ’42, became active donors to the university more than four decades ago. Since then, the Armstrongs’ influence has been felt in nearly every aspect of WSU, including the College of Fine Arts and the Ulrich Museum. Showing their support, Mickey Armstrong and her husband established College of Fine Arts scholarships and faculty development funds. Armstrong is a life member of the WSU Alumni Association and Fairmount Society and member of the Society of 1895, has been supportive of several of the university’s capital priorities, including, most recently, the construction of the Advanced Education in General Dentistry facility and the Rhatigan Renewal.
Nancy ’69 and Tom ’65 Martin
From liberal arts to athletics to health professions to fine arts, for close to 30 years, Nancy ’69 and Tom ’65 Martin have been great supporters of several programs at WSU. In addition to being members of the Society of 1895, the Martins are life members of the Fairmount Society and the WSU Alumni Association. Nancy has served on the WSU Foundation National Advisory Council (NAC) since it was organized in 1997 as well as multiple terms on its board of directors. From 2007 until 2008, she served as the first female WSU Foundation board chair of the WSU Foundation Board of Directors and the NAC. A year later, Nancy received the WSU President’s Medal.
Harry Pollak
For almost a decade, friend to WSU and former Wichitan, Harry Pollak has supported the Ulrich Museum of Art and WSU. Pollak understands the importance of preserving Joan Miro's iconic work, Personnages Oiseaux (Bird People). An avid art collector, Pollak and his late wife, Sharley Woolover Stevens, amassed a comprehensive 87-piece volume of modern Mexican art, the Pollak Collection, which has been exhibited at the Ulrich Museum of Art and the Naples Museum of Art. Pollak, a resident of Sarasota, Fla., considers his contributions to not only be for WSU, but the city of Wichita.
$100,000
Kelly and Jon ’83 Callen
Life members of the Fairmount Society and the WSU Alumni Association, the support Kelly and John ’83 Callen have provided to WSU, the College of Fine Arts and local fine arts, in general, goes beyond monetary and can never be overstated.
In addition to creating scholarships, supporting funds and other university projects — including the Rhatigan Renewal — for more than 30 years, they also made major contributions to the creation of the Ablah Library’s E.K. and Kathlien Edmiston 24-Hour Study Room in honor of Kelly’s parents and deferred maintenance for the Duerksen Fine Arts Center.
Kelly is an Ulrich Museum Advisory Board member and Miró Mosaic Conservation Committee member. Additionally, she is a supporter of the Fine Arts Advisory Board, and a member of the Music Associates Board of Directors, the WSU Foundation National Advisory Council and its board of directors.
Fidelity Bank
A President’s Club Life Member, Fidelity Bank has been giving to WSU for more than 30 years.
The bank also has given to several areas of the university, including athletics, scholarship funds and KMUW 89.1.
Fidelity Bank is currently the second largest locally owned financial institution. There are 20 retail banking locations in the Wichita area and five branches in the Oklahoma City area.
$150,000
Barry and Paula Downing Foundation
For close to 25 years, through the Barry and Paula Downing Foundation, Paula and Barry ’72 Downing have provided much-needed and transformational gifts to the WSU athletics and anthropology programs. Most recently, they funded a portion of the Bombardier Baseball Indoor Practice Facility, which features the Downing Indoor Field. A decade ago, they supported the creation of a 5,000-square-foot academic learning center inside Koch Arena for student athletes. Also in 2001, inspired by a vacation to the tropics, the Downings underwrote a WSU expedition to New Guinea, which culminated in the largest university collection of Asmat art in the United States. It is known as the Downing Collection.
The Downings are Fairmount Society Lifetime Achievement Members and were the recipients of the 2004 Fairmount Founders’ Award.
$200,000
S.M. and L.H. Brown Charitable Trust
A Fairmount Society Life Member, the donation to the Miro Conservation Campaign is the S.M. and L.H. Brown Charitable Trust’s single largest gift to the university.
Established in 1974, the trust has been a great support to the College of Fine Arts at WSU for almost 30 years. In 2006, for the benefit of the School of Performing Arts, the trust’s board members created the S.M. and Laura H. Brown Charitable Trust Guest Artist Fund, which has helped bring established performing artists to WSU to help train and mentor students.