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WSU Foundation Receives Sizable Donation For Honors College

foundation.wichita.edu

The Wichita State University Foundation has received a sizable donation from longtime donors. As KMUW’s Sean Sandefur reports, the funds will go towards the school’s honor college…

A gift of $5 million has been given to the WSU Foundation from Dorothy and Bill Cohen.

According to university officials, most of the funds are earmarked for the Honors College, which will be renamed the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College.

Credit Sean Sandefur
Dorothy Cohen at a press conference announcing the donation.

The money will be used for student scholarships, fellowships for faculty and an annual program focused on student leadership.

Dorothy Cohen says she and her husband believe in the mission of the Honors College and are excited to see what their donation will accomplish.

“We are so excited to be a part of this," Cohen says. "We anticipate the opportunity to learn more through these forward thinking students and faculty.”

$2.25 million will endow the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College Enhancement Scholarship, which will help students pay for activities such as studying abroad, undergraduate research, internships in the public sector and attending national conferences.

$1.5 million will endow the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College Faculty Fellows, who are faculty members released from departmental duties for a semester to teach in the Honors College.

$1 million will endow the Dorothy and Bill Cohen Honors College Leadership Academy, an annual program aimed at supporting student leadership through academic coursework and community mentorship.

A quarter of a million dollars will also be donated to the school’s library, helping to hire graduate assistants and buy new equipment.

The Cohens, who’ve amassed wealth in the insurance business, have donated to Wichita State a number of times, including $90,000 to help build the Rhatigan Student Center.