E.W. Kelley establishes scholarship program

Philanthropist E. W. Kelley (back row, center)
enjoys a banquet in his honor at IU,
surrounded by members of his family.

IU names School of Business in his honor

Indiana University is naming its School of Business in honor of philanthropist E.W. Kelley, whose most recent gift to IU will create an ambitious business scholarship program. The Kelley Scholars Program has been established to attract, enroll and educate at the Kelley School of Business even more of the nation's most outstanding students interested in pursuing an undergraduate program in business.

Kelley, the founder and managing general partner of Kelley & Partners Ltd., and chairman of Consolidated Products Inc., has committed present and future gifts totaling more than $23 million to create the scholarship program. The Kelley Scholars Program will begin in 1998-99 and initially provide full, four-year scholarships to 10 outstanding entering freshmen.

The Kelley School of Business at IU has approximately 170 full-time faculty members and 5,200 students at the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses.

"Mr. Kelley has made the largest gift in the history of the School of Business and IU. His generosity and his long-standing passion for the undergraduate program are matched by his vision," said Dan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School of Business.

The gift is the largest in both the history of the School of Business and the university itself. What it provides, said IU President Myles Brand, is "a significant margin of excellence."

"With this extremely generous gift, E.W. Kelley has enabled IU to create a significant margin of excellence that will have an indelible impact on the School of Business," said IU President Myles Brand. "His gift is an investment in the future and we are extremely grateful. It is Ed Kelley's leadership, and people like him, who build great universities."

Gerald L. Bepko, IU vice president for long-range planning and chancellor of IUPUI, said,"Having the name of E.W. Kelley attached to IU's School of Business underscores the distinction Indiana has earned for having one of the top-ranked business schools in America."

Through his gift, Kelley is reinforcing a close association with IU that dates back to the mid-1930s, when he was president of the School of Business student body. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1939.

As a student, Kelley had several mentors, including University Chancellor Herman B Wells. "I was lucky in that I had a number of people at IU who promoted me to big Eastern corporations, and that's how I got chances to prove myself," Kelley said. A primary reason for his providing the gift, he said, "is to give back to society what society helped me get. I've done that by choosing to support a few special things, and Indiana University is obviously one of them."

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