Halls at the Hallmark of Life Sciences Research
Words • Loring Leifer
When Hallmark founder Joyce Hall, his wife
Elizabeth Ann Hall and his brother Rollie
Hall created the Hall Family Foundation,
they committed to helping people and
improving the quality of life in the city
they loved.
Sixty years later, their generosity continues
to enhance the lives of Kansas Citians. The
foundation made a $27 million gift to help
KU Medical Center furnish the new Kansas
Life Sciences Innovation Center with the
latest equipment.
“We hope to be a catalyst for innovative
programs that strive to create permanent
solutions to problems in the area,” says
Bill Hall, president of the foundation (but
no relation to the family).
This gift was one of several the foundation
has made to support the work of KU
Medical Center.
In 2001, the foundation pledged $42
million to further life sciences research and
fund scholarships at the Hall Center for
the Humanities on the Lawrence campus.
It’s the largest private gift to a college or
university in Kansas history.
In 2005, a three-year grant of $1.2
million helped support pilot studies and
bridge research projects to sustain the
work of scientists in between federal
funding cycles.
Also in 2005, a five-year grant of $1.4
million helped support the student
stipends and other associated costs of
the School of Medicine and doctoral
research programs.
“We look forward to the wonderful
advances that are sure to take place in the
Kansas Life Sciences Innovation Center
and what they will bring to the Medical
Center and to society,” Hall says.
©
The University of Kansas Medical Center