History of the KU Alumni Association

In 1883, at the University’s 11th Commencement, a small group of alumni founded what became known as the Alumni Association of the University of Kansas, a nonprofit, self-governing corporation, “for the purpose of strengthening loyalty, friendship, commitment and communication among all graduates, former students, current students, parents, faculty, staff and all other interested friends of the University of Kansas.” William Carruth, c1880, g1883, became the organization’s first elected president, and annual membership dues were 50 cents.

In 1891, alumni established the KU Endowment Association, a nonprofit, self-governing foundation dedicated to raising funds to “build a greater University than the state alone can provide.”

Throughout KU’s history, these two self-governing auxiliary units have collaborated in countless ways to strengthen KU. The Alumni Association builds and maintains relationships within the KU community, enlisting alumni and friends as informed volunteer advocates and advisers to their alma mater. Ultimately these relationships have resulted in extraordinary private gifts to KU Endowment, lifting a public university in the Midwest to national and international prominence as a research university.

At the heart of their partnership is the shared Information and Records System, which is jointly administered by both organizations: the Alumni Association maintains biographical and membership records, and KU Endowment maintains donor records.

In 1902, the Alumni Association established itself as a vital source of University news and the independent voice of alumni by publishing The Graduate Magazine, one of the nation’s oldest continuing alumni periodicals. The magazine, known since 1963 as Kansas Alumni, has been published as a bimonthly magazine since 1991.

The Association hired its first paid executive, Leon “Daddy” Flint, c1897, in 1905 and soon began organizing alumni and friends in key KU strongholds. A Sedgwick County “KU Club” welcomed about 50 people to its first annual banquet in 1906. Three years later, about 80 graduates and friends met in Swope Park for the first annual picnic of the Kansas City Alumni Association.

The Association also helped establish and nurture KU traditions, hosting the first KU Homecoming in 1912 and the first 50-year reunion in 1923.

In 1924, Fred Ellsworth, c’22, became the Association’s fourth executive leader. He established KU’s volunteer tradition and became known as Mr. KU, leading the Association for 39 years. In 1975, the Association honored him by creating the Fred Ellsworth Medallion for unique and significant service to the University.

The Association welcomed Mildred Clodfelter, b’41, as assistant secretary, the first of several professional roles she fulfilled during her 42 years with the Association.She established friendships with several generations of Jayhawks. When she retired in 1986, the Association honored her by creating the Mildred Clodfelter Alumni Award for longtime volunteers who are KU ambassadors in their home communities.

Dick Wintermote, c’51, succeeded Ellsworth in 1963 after working for the Association 12 years. He continued the high standards for building the Association’s volunteer network through the next 20 years. Highlights of his leadership included the creation of the Flying Jayhawks program in 1970 and the Kansas Honors Program in 1971. The Association and the University also formalized the Association’s role as the official guardian of alumni records in 1979, when Chancellor Archie Dykes signed the KU Policy for the Maintenance of Alumni Records (

Working with leaders of KU Endowment, Wintermote guided the fundraising campaign to build the Alumni Association’s first stand-alone headquarters. The Association celebrated its centennial in 1983 by moving its offices from the Kansas Union to the Adams Alumni Center at 1266 Oread Avenue. Wintermote retired that year. In 2007, the Association created the Dick Wintermote Chapter Volunteer of the Year Award in his honor.

The Adams Alumni Center serves not only the headquarters of the Alumni Association but also as a home for the Endacott Society of retired faculty and staff.

From 1983 to 2004, Fred B. Williams served as the Association’s chief executive. During his tenure, the Association in 1987 signed its first contract with INTRUST Bank of Wichita for an affinity credit card. Also in 1987, the Association began the Student Alumni Association.

In 1992, The Association’s alumni legislative network, now known as Jayhawks for Higher Education, convinced the Legislature and Gov. Joan Finney to provide state funding to help rebuild beloved Hoch Auditorium, which had been gutted by fire in June 1991.

In 1994, the Association worked with leaders of the University and KU Endowment to establish the Institutional Advancement Policy for the University. Approved by Chancellor Gene Budig in 1994, the policy states that KU advancement efforts are initiated largely through the Alumni Association, KU Endowment, the Office of Public Affairs, including Government Relations, and the Office of External Affairs at the Medical Center (

The Association established a new level of annual membership, the Jayhawk Society, in 1996. Life Members also can make tax-deductible contributions to the Jayhawk Society.

Kevin Corbett, c’88, succeeded Williams in 2004, following interim leadership by former KU Chancellor Del Shankel. Corbett led the Association in revitalizing its alumni chapters throughout Kansas and the nation. The Association saw unprecedented growth in events and programs, digital communications and volunteers. A new membership level, Future Jayhawks, began in 2007 for children from birth to age 18.

When the University unveiled its new visual identity program in 2005, KU leaders affirmed the Association’s continued use of University marks, logos and visual identity in accordance with the Trademark License Agreement that originated in 1988.

In 2006, the Association amended and restated its Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, changing the organization’s formal name to the Kansas University Alumni Association. The Association also established a critical donor program known as the Presidents Club, which has quickly grown to surpass 500 members. Presidents Club donors’ annual contributions of $1,000 or more have made possible the Association’s dramatic growth in programs, events and services.

The Association’s longtime advocacy for improved student recruitment, especially of students from KU families, resulted in Legislative approval of a partial tuition waiver for out-of-state legacy students. The program became known as the Jayhawk Generations Scholarship in 2009. Three years later, the Association became the first in the nation to create a Legacy Relations staff position to work in concert with the KU Office of Admissions. These efforts have produced impressive increases in legacy students from 15 percent to 23 percent of KU enrollment.

In addition to highlighting the importance of student recruitment, the Association has mobilized its Jayhawks for Higher Education to strengthen KU. JHE members helped win state leaders’ approval for a new School of Pharmacy. JHE also successfully advocated for expanding the School of Engineering, and alumni advocates proved vital in winning Johnson County voters’ approval of a sales tax increase to fund the Johnson County Education and Research Triangle in 2008. All of these efforts, combined with advocacy for the state’s ongoing annual support of the KU Cancer Center, resulted in the University’s historic achievement of National Cancer Institute designation in 2012.

Kevin Corbett resigned as the Association’s chief executive and in 2015, Heath Peterson, a 12-year veteran of staff, became president. Also in 2015, the Association and the University signed an Affiliation Agreement, which formalizes the longtime relationship between KU and the Association and specifies the following:

• The University will pay the Association an annual amount for maintaining alumni records as the official custodian, and the Association will provide records access to campus leaders and administrators.

•The University and the Association will jointly administer and support the Kansas Honors Program.

• The Association will pay the University for certain designated administrative services at fair market value.

In 2016, Peterson and senior staff members established strategic goals for the Association through 2020 and began to evaluate, refine and create programs to align with those goals (see separate document). Among the goals was a proposal, endorsed by Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little, KU Endowment and campus leaders, to renovate and expand the Adams Alumni Center to include a new Welcome Center, which would transform the campus visit experience for prospective students and families at the entrance to the cherished historic district of Mount Oread. The Association’s Board of Directors envisions a structure that would house expanded programs to connect current students with alumni through career and mentoring activities. In addition, the combined Adams Alumni Center and Welcome Center would employ the latest technology to vividly tell the stories of alumni leadership and achievements. Most important, the new building will unite past, present and future Jayhawks—and capture the essence of the incomparable KU experience we all share.