04/07/09

Planned bequest to provide scholarships for five schools at University of Kansas

LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas alumnus has established a bequest for KU Endowment to provide individual scholarships for five schools at the University of Kansas.

Dan Steeples, Arlington, Va., graduated from the University of Kansas in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and in 1977 with a master’s degree in management science. He is a research analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses in Alexandria, Va.

“I wanted to leave a long-lasting, worthwhile legacy,” said Steeples. “I thought this would be a good way to accomplish that.”

The bequest will create The Dan Steeples Memorial Scholarships in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for students majoring in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and in the schools of business, architecture, education, and engineering.

Preference will be given to University of Kansas juniors and seniors from Graham and Rooks counties in western Kansas. Steeples grew up on his family’s farm and cattle ranch near Palco, in Rooks County, and his mother grew up in Graham County.

“When I was at KU, I knew other students from western Kansas who were certainly capable of going to the University of Kansas or Kansas State University,” Steeples said. “But, their parents didn’t have the financial means to send them there.”

Before establishing his planned bequest for the University of Kansas, Steeples consulted with his cousin, Don Steeples, who is vice provost for scholarly support.

“I think that perhaps more than anything, his bequest intention illustrates Dan’s loyalty to where he grew up out in the Rooks and Graham county area,” Don Steeples said. “And I think it also indicates his respect for the University of Kansas majors that have a strong mathematics component.”

When Dan Steeples began his studies at the University of Kansas, he planned to major in accounting. Larry Sherr’s statistics class changed that. “In listening to him, I became interested in statistics and mathematical modeling techniques,” Steeples said. “I’ve been interested in those topics ever since. In the past 30 years, as a part-time adjunct, I have taught over 50 classes in statistics and operations research at various universities and before every lecture I would ask myself, is this how Professor Sherr would present the material?”

Sherr taught statistics at the University of Kansas from 1965 until his retirement in 1998. Steeples served as his teaching assistant, and their friendship has continued through the years. Sherr said that among the thousands of students he taught, Steeples stands out.

“Through his competence, his sense of humor, his work that was always done on time, he more than exceeded my expectations,” Sherr said. “Plus, he gave me some good ideas on how to teach a class.”

In addition to Steeples’ bequest for the University of Kansas, he established a similar intention for Kansas State University, where his father majored in agricultural economics.

The gift will be managed by KU Endowment, an independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment is the first foundation of its kind at a public university in the United States.

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