Chancellors Club honors faculty, students

An AIDS researcher, an aircraft designer and 16 freshmen were among the honorees at the 26th annual meeting of the Chancellors Club Friday night at Kansas University.

The club, established in 1977, is the major-donor organization for the KU Endowment Association. Members met at the Kansas Union Ballroom for a black-tie dinner and reception.

Chancellor Robert Hemenway told the crowd that KU was stronger than ever before. He cited record enrollment this fall despite a tuition increase as one example.

Chancellors Club Faculty award recipients Opendra Bill Narayan, left, and Jan Roskam chat in the Kansas Union Ballroom. Narayan, an internationally recognized scientist and pioneer in the area of AIDS research, and Roskam, a world-renowned aircraft designer, received the awards Friday at the Chancellors Club's annual meeting.

“People voted with their feet,” he said. “They said, ‘We want to go to KU even if it costs us more.'”

Opendra “Bill” Narayan, professor and chairman of the department of microbiology at the KU Medical Center, received the group’s 2003 Research Award.

The award, which includes a $5,000 prize, goes to a researcher whose work has led to significant scientific discoveries.

Narayan is known worldwide for his research to find a vaccine for AIDS. In 2001, he received a $10.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, the largest grant given by NIH to a KU researcher.

Jan Roskam, professor of aerospace engineering, received the club’s 2003 Career Teaching Award. The award, which also carries a $5,000 prize, honors a senior KU faculty member who exemplifies the university’s commitment to outstanding teaching.

Roskam, who will retire at the end of the academic year after a 36-year career at KU, has been a consultant on several aircraft design projects, including the Boeing 747 passenger jet.

The organization also honored 16 students who were named Chancellors Club scholars for 2003-2004. The scholarships go to National Merit finalists with outstanding high school records.

Kansas University freshmen Justin Klinger, left, from Overland Park, and Mark Mattione, center, Leawood, chuckle as Paul Karrer, Omaha, Neb., inspects a KU football ticket given as a gift from the university. The three were among 16 freshmen who received scholarships Friday from the Chancellors Club at the group's annual meeting at the Kansas Union Ballroom.

Donor Sallie Morrison said she enjoyed meeting some of the students and seeing how Chancellors Club members’ money was put to use.

“This is what we’re all about is the kids who are working hard, who are directed, who want to have fun but want to be successful,” she said.

John Scarffe, spokesman for the Endowment Association, declined to release how much the scholarships were worth or give a range of their value.

This year’s winners are Andrew Campbell and Alex Chavez, Wichita; Abigail East, Emporia; Amanda Ellwood, Mark Mattione and Daniel Hogan, Leawood; Abbie Gilmore, Scammon; Audra Jenkins, Admire; Mackenzie Hanson and Justin Klinger, Overland Park; Jill Koehler, McPherson; Paul Shipley, Olathe; Lucas Thompson, Lawrence; Sarah Bueltmann, Manchester, Mo.; Emily Moisan, St. Charles, Mo.; and Paul Karrer, Omaha, Neb.