SUMMER ENDORSEMENTS FOR TEACHERS START MAY 13th!

Expand your opportunities. Advance your career. Get SET this summer with summer endorsements for teachers.

Arrow

Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial Champions

Published: April 13, 2021

Five long-time champions of GU students passed in recent months, all alumni of classes that graduated in the 1940s and 50s. Combined, they gave more than $4 million dollars to empower students at their alma mater and ensure that generations of students embrace GUs hallmark Christ-centered learning.

Dr. M. Kenneth Kaufmann '49, Linda Moore '55, Harold Johnson Long '48, Rob Stroud '59, and Don Jones '52 funded scholarships, fueled programs, reduced debt, enriched teaching, equipped sports teams, encouraged professors and coaches, and more. They each exemplified joyful giving in a unique way.

Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial ChampionsThe Doctor Who Opened Doors of Opportunity

Most alumni from 1959 to 2000 recallDr. M. Kenneth Kaufmann 49as the colleges physician, husband to Stella (Butcher 54), and father to seven GU alumni. But over the years, the good doctor also led his family in opening their home to more than 24 students, a gesture that helped his young house guests afford college.

Ken served on GUs Board of Trustees and supported various concerns like faculty salaries and the Factory Theatre. By far, however, he designated most of his gifts to scholarships. He knew that scholarships unlocked doors of opportunity. Scholarships removed barriers and gave hope, much like hospitality that said, Our home is your home.

The Kaufmann family invites donations in Kens memory to GUs Kaufmann Building Endowment Fund. The Kaufmann Building, his former office, now serves students as a creative hub for studies in English, communication, digital media, and art.Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial Champions

The Powerhouse Nurse Who Made Giving a Habit

Routine always resonated withLinda (Moorhouse 55) Mooreroutine exercise, regular healthy eating, and habitual generosity of her time and talents.

A career school nurse, Lin made it her regular practice to attend to others, as well.

  • She cared for, counseled, and encouraged students and faculty where she worked.
  • She showed up on neighbors' and friends' doorsteps with treats, and a smile.
  • She stayed in touch with distant family and friends, and stayed involved with her childrens and grandchildren's activities.
  • She fully engaged in church activities, started a neighborhood Bible study, and shared Gideon Bibles with nursing students.

Over and again she demonstrated selflessness, cheer, and a servant's heart.

Lin and husband Jesse 51 shared the goodness of Jesus and the goodness of GU with their children (all three are GU alums) and others, too. For more than 62 years, they faithfully donated to GU, funding scholarships that relieved burdens, cleared paths to careers, and kept students on their degree tracks.

Lin's example reminds us that routine gratitude and cheerful routine giving bring joy.

The Accountant Who Ensured Others Would Enjoy What He Enjoyed

Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial ChampionsAccountantHarold Johnson Long 48loved a good game of tennis. The son of former GU President H.J. Long, Harold exercised his serve and backhand strokes throughout his septuagenarian years much as he did decades earlier at GU. A near-fatal heart attack during a doubles match nearly sidelined Harold at age 80, but he recovered and lived 14 more years.

Today, the Harold and Lorraine Long Fund supports Panther tennis, both for women and men. The family invites you to make a gift in Harolds memory.

The Insurance Executive Who Led the Way By Giving First

Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial ChampionsFormer GU trustee and insurance executiveRob Stroud 59embodied service and leadership. He spotted needs in the Universitys operations and filled them, often leading the way with a personal gift. Rob supported scholarships, athletic training equipment, restoration of the Alumni House, masters programs, debt reduction, the Dietzman Center, GUs Athletic Hall of Fame, academic chairs, GUs Golf Scramble, its trustees retreat and more.

In 2013, at the Universitys annual Presidents Society Dinner, GU honored Rob with its Servant Leadership Award (at left).

Receiving the honor, he told fellow alumni, "My job was to come up with ideas that [would] enhance and expand Greenville College. That's what we all are here to do."

Robs family invites you to make a gift in his honor to Greenville University.

The Forge Owner Who Dreamed Big Dreams That Helped Others

Don Jones 52led a life that straddled the hard-as-steel reality of his forge business Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial Championsand the dreamy imaginings that entertain possibilities. The mix contributed to his thriving business and to GUs growth.

Dons faithful generosity made possible the SMART Center on Greenville's square, JKL Academic Hall, home to the Bastian School of Theology, Philosophy, and Ministry; the Prairie Street Center that houses GUs University Pathways program; Prairie House that houses GUs Office of Advancement; the Light & Life Digital Media Center; GUs track; and more.

Buildings serve students, and students were ever on Dons heart. Sometimes a check from Don would show up at the University, with a note like this one, recalling a time in 1951:

Enclosed please find a check for $300, the budget amount for starting GCs first track program. I went with Coach John Strahl to St. Louis to buy the equipment for starting the program. We purchased a pole vault pole, javelin, and two pairs of shoes, sizes nine and 12. (Every runner had to wear either nine or 12.) It has been great to see the program grow.

Generosity Proved a Way of Life for Five GU Financial Champions

Above, Don Jones with GU cross-country Panthers who visited his operation last year.

Abundant Gratitude

Thank you Ken, Lin, Harold, Rob, and Don, for showing the extended Greenville University community how to grow, too. Your contagious generosity and pleasure in giving has touched generations of students in the past and will continue to touch students in the future.

In Memory Gifts

Friends and alumni of Greenville University may designate a gift in memory of friends and loved ones at greenville.edu/giving.

Ready for your next steps?