A Kansas University alumni couple has added a $1.25 million commitment, to be paid over five years, to the private funds raised for the new KU School of Business building.

Kent and Missy McCarthy, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., are both KU graduates and have financially supported the business school in the past.

Kent McCarthy, who graduated from the KU business school, created an investing class at KU that has helped attract students to the university’s finance program, said Austin Falley, a business school spokesman.

Called the Applied Portfolio Management class, McCarthy founded the original portfolio with more than $250,000 of his own capital. The class puts students to work managing the portfolio, which today is worth more than $1 million, Falley said.

Missy McCarthy received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s in social work from KU. Together the couple has given more than $2.5 million to support the business school in the past.