The Kansas University Endowment Association is planning to establish a fund to help pay for a new steam whistle on campus, officials said Monday.

John Scarffe, an Endowment Association spokesman, said two people had called wanting to donate to replace the steam whistle, which broke last week.

“We’re working with the university to identify the cost,” he said. “We had a couple of people express interest.”

The whistle, which had signaled the end of classes at 20 minutes past the hour, cracked Wednesday and was blown 25 feet in the air before landing on the plant’s roof.

Doug Riat, director of Facilities and Operations, said years of temperature changes and pressure caused the whistle to crack beyond repair. Steam was pushed through the whistle at 300 degrees and 175 pounds of pressure.

A Kansas University student passes near the Kansas University Power Plant tower, which until last week held a bronze steam whistle. The whistle has cracked beyond repair, and the KU Endowment Association has established a fund to help pay for a replacement.

Riat said Monday the whistle would be replaced, though he had said last week he wasn’t sure of its fate. He said KU hadn’t located a company with a whistle pattern to fit the steam pipe atop the plant. Replacement will cost at least $2,000, he said.

“We’re going to go ahead and make the repairs,” he said. “If there are funds available to offset the cost it would be good, since times are so tight.”

Though the most recent whistle — from a German freightliner — was atop the building since the 1940s, there has been a whistle on campus since 1912.

“The whistle’s been a fixture for the university for a long, long time,” Riat said. “A number of generations of alumni have heard it sound.”

The whistle has made an impact outside the university. Bob Seals, a retired minister from Kansas City, Kan., was among the people who took notice of news reports last week saying the whistle might not be replaced.

Seals, who visits Lawrence about once a week, said he would contribute to the whistle fund.

“This is a tradition,” he said. “It’s a fun thing. There’s a bit of history attached to that whistle.”

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To donate to the fund, contact the Endowment Association at 832-7400.