Robert Eaton, a 1963 KU engineering graduate and retired chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler, speaks to a gathering of engineering students and faculty gathered in the Spahr Classroom of Eaton Hall on the campus of Kansas University, in October 2010.

Robert Eaton — the former chairman of the Chrysler Corporation — and his wife have given a $1 million gift to KU to provide scholarships to students from a pair of Kansas communities.

The Eatons have directed that the $1 million endowment be used to provide scholarships to students from Burlington and Arkansas City who want to attend the University of Kansas. Robert Eaton is from Arkansas City, while Connie Drake Eaton is from Burlington.

Both Eatons attended KU and have been significant benefactors to the university in recent years.

“Going to college had the biggest effect on my life of any single event,” Robert Eaton said. “We want to give back to the university and provide someone with a life-changing experience that they might not be able to have otherwise.”

Robert Eaton was the chairman of the auto manufacturer Chrysler from 1993 to 1998, after having previously served as an engineer and top executive for General Motors. The couple, who live in Naples, Fla., gave $5 million to KU in 2003 to help with construction of a new engineering building, which is now named Eaton Hall.