Austin and Arline Rising Scholarship

Arline vonderLeith and Austin ‘Russ’ Rising were married on June 20, 1942. After which, Mr. Rising joined the Navy and served overseas during World War II while Mrs. Rising worked as an executive secretary for the Alco-Gravure Company, the publishers of Look Magazine. Following the war, Mr. Rising accepted a sales manager position with OA Sutton Company and the family moved to Wichita. In 1962, Mr. Rising embarked on a 22-year aviation career at Beech Aircraft Corp., now Raytheon Aircraft. Aside from caring for her family, Mrs. Rising was very active in the community, serving on the boards of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra and Women’s Association, the Camp Fire Girls and Wichita Art Museum. Mr. Rising managed approximately 30 ground-based Beech operations until he retired from his vice president position in 1983.

Although neither of them were Wichita State University alumni, they felt a strong tie to the university since they lived their entire adult lives in Wichita. In 1982, the Risings established the Austin and Arline Rising Scholarship. Mr. Rising passed away in 2003. His memorial was dedicated to the scholarship fund.