Kansas Board of Regents member William R. Docking and his wife, Judy, have committed a $1 million gift to Kansas University, KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway announced Thursday.

Half of the gift endows the William and Judy Docking Teaching Professorship Fund for the KU School of Business.

The fund provides a salary stipend and support for teaching and research. The fund is also eligible for more support through the Kansas Partnership for Faculty of Distinction program.

The professorship has been awarded to Deepak Datta, who has taught strategic management since 1986 at the business school.

To be selected for the honor, an individual must be a full professor; demonstrate a history of high-quality teaching and student support; be involved in a distinguished and active research program; and have a record of service to the school and the university.

Datta teaches in the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs of the business school. His research interests include mergers and acquisitions, CEO selection, top management demography, strategic decision processes, international entry strategies and strategic human resource management.

His most recent research focuses on understanding how firm and industry conditions impact CEO selection and how CEO characteristics influence the choice of firm strategies.

The Dockings’ gift also includes $100,000 for a fund in the couple’s names that provides unrestricted support for the university.

The Dockings also pledged to donate $400,000 by fall 2005 for the William and Judy Docking Law Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to students based on need or merit.

Docking, who is the son and grandson of two former Kansas governors (Robert Docking and George Docking), received praise from Hemenway for the gift.

“This contribution demonstrates the Dockings’ awareness of the need for private gifts in order to attract and retain outstanding students and professors to the University of Kansas,” Hemenway said in a prepared statement.

Docking received a political science degree in 1973 and an MBA in 1977 from KU. Following graduation, he worked in Kansas City, Mo., and earned his certified public accountant license in 1979.

In 1983, the Lawrence native was named president and CEO of Union State Bank in Arkansas City, a position he still holds. He also is chairman of City National Bank and Trust Co., of Guymon, Okla., and a managing member of Docking Development LLC, an oil production company in Oxford.

In 2002, he was named president of Cowley County Broadcasting Inc., which owns two radio stations.

A member of the Kansas Board of Regents since 1995, he served as chair from July 1998 until June 2000.