photo by: Chris Conde

The World War II Memorial Campanile on the University of Kansas campus is pictured on Jan. 19, 2022.

The estate of a Kansas oil magnate has donated $5.5 million in scholarship funds to the University of Kansas and an equal amount to Wichita State University.

The estate of Richard “Dick” Smith gave in total $11 million to the two Regents universities. KU is Smith’s alma mater, while Wichita State is located near the headquarters of Range Oil Company, which Smith founded in 1964.

The $5.5 million in scholarships to KU are to be split equally between undergraduates across the university and students studying geology, which is the degree that Smith received from KU in 1954.

At WSU, undergraduates in any field will qualify for the scholarships. Wichita State University announced the news of the scholarships Wednesday after a press conference attended by the Smith family and university leaders.

“This remarkable gift will create opportunities for KU and its students for generations to come,” KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said as part of the event. “It also reinforces the educational partnership between Wichita State and KU as both strive to create a stronger Kansas through higher education.”

Smith, a longtime Wichita resident, died in January 2021 at the age of 87. His widow, Sondra Langel, said that funding higher education opportunities for Kansans was important to Smith.

“Dick believed that a college education could have an incomparable impact on the direction an individual’s life could take,” Langel said. “His family and friends join in celebrating the opportunities his scholarships will create for thousands of young Kansas students.”

Smith had previously made several other donations to KU in the areas of geology, arts, athletics and the KU School of Medicine in Wichita, KU Endowment President Dale Seuferling said.