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On its 160th birthday last week, Washburn University announced a historic gift: a $50 million donation from alumni Greg and Ronda Brenneman.
The gift to the public university in Topeka, Kan., will be used in part to fund the construction of a new health education facility that brings together all health-related disciplines.
“We are honored and humbled to be able to make this gift to, among other things, turbocharge Washburn's ability to reimagine healthcare education using state of the art technology in a new building,” Greg Brenneman said in a news release.
The gift will also help transform Washburn's business and nursing schools; the former will now be known as the Gregory D. and Ronda K. Brenneman School of Business for the couple, who met while attending the university in the 1980s. The latter will be renamed the Harmony J. Hines School of Nursing in honor of Ronda’s late sister, who earned her nursing degree there and worked as a nurse before she lost her life to cancer.
The Brennemans have a long record as donors to their alma mater; other projects they funded include an endowed chair in business strategy and a seven-week program in leadership and philanthropy.
“Since graduating from Washburn, the Brennemans have achieved remarkable success in their own lives yet have consistently returned to our campus to share their time, resources, wisdom and innovative vision for future leaders,” Washburn president JuliAnn Mazachek said in the news release. “Their momentous gift … ensures that Washburn continues to thrive and provide accessible, high-quality education for many generations to come.”
