News Releases
2/17/07
Richard and Ruth Starr of Lawrence have found a way to combine their love of KU architecture and fine arts programs with an income for themselves. In fact, the Starrs liked the results of their first gift annuity for KU so much they gave to create a second.
“We are two people who believe in KU so much that we established a second gift annuity,” said Richard Starr, architecture ’50. “We’re passionate about the program.”
The Starrs have given more than $75,000 since 2003 to create gift annuities at KU Endowment. The annuities pay the Starrs an income for life. Upon their deaths, their gifts will provide scholarships for students studying architecture and fine arts at KU.
The gifts allow the Starrs to add to their income now, and know that the scholarships will help students later. “When we are gone, the money will be used for the students’ benefit,” Richard said.
Richard attended KU with the help of the G.I. Bill. “Without that assistance, I would not have received my degree,” he said. “We look at our gift as assistance for some student to get their degree. It’s a kind of a payback for us.”
Richard met Ruth, liberal arts ’48, when the two were KU students. For more than three decades, Richard worked as an architect in Topeka, Kan., Clovis, N.M., and Hays, Kan. In 1988, he and Ruth moved to Santa Fe, N.M., where Richard pursued a degree in fine arts from the College of Santa Fe. He specialized in sculpture and graduated in 1992, shortly before the couple returned to Lawrence.
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