6.3.25

Don and Elizabeth King honored as 2025 Fairmount Founders Award recipients

Elizabeth and Don King were named recipients of the 2025 Fairmount Founders Award at the annual Fairmount Society recognition dinner hosted by the WSU Foundation and Alumni engagement.

Together, Elizabeth and Don have tallied an impressive and broad-ranging record of support for Wichita State University. Their Shocker giving history began in 1991, the year Elizabeth, who holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of North Texas, took up the role of vice president for university advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation at WSU. Elizabeth had moved to Wichita in 1989 to marry Don, the president of King Construction, the large, family-owned, Hesston, Kansas-based corporation primarily known for building bridges for state, county and city projects.

The two met as undergraduate students at Wheaton College in Illinois, re-met at their 10-year college reunion and went on to marry and have two sons, Lance and Brandon, who were, Elizabeth notes, “practically raised at Wichita State, attending ballgames and campus events from birth.”

Don and Elizabeth, who retired in 2024 as WSUFAE president and CEO emerita, have each claimed widespread recognition and numerous awards for their varied contributions to community and profession.

At Wichita State, they are members of the Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization (SASO) and WSUFAE’s President’s Club, the Society of 1895 and, since 2007, the Fairmount Society. Through 34 years of Shocker involvement and giving, they have supported scores of university initiatives, programs and projects across campus – from the arts to athletics to scholarship development, including the establishment in 2012 of the Elizabeth and Don King Scholarship for International Students.

“The dedication Don and Elizabeth have shown to Wichita State over the years is a testament to their passion for philanthropy and opening doors for others,” says Telly McGaha, president and CEO of the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement. “They are incredibly deserving of this recognition for their relentless commitment to growing Shocker Nation.”

Today, the Kings are taking on new roles as proud grandparents, but they’re still proud supporters of Wichita State. As Elizabeth often says, “Once a Shocker, always a Shocker.”