More than 200 people attended the Fairmount Society gala celebration on Thursday, May 9, at Mark Arts. The event recognizes Wichita State’s most generous donors and honors recipients of the Fairmount Founders’ Award and Board of Trustees’ Award. The annual event, hosted by the WSU Foundation, is attended by members of the Fairmount Society, the foundation’s top giving club.

The 2019 Fairmount Founders’ Award was presented to Jane McHugh, a 1980 WSU graduate whose longtime support of Wichita State includes substantial gifts for scholarships, the arts and campus facilities. A Certified Public Accountant, McHugh serves on the WSU Foundation Board of Directors, the College of Applied Studies Advisory Board and the Ulrich Museum Advisory Board.

The Board of Trustees’ Award was presented to Debbie Gann for her work to foster relationships between Wichita State and the community, including her longtime employer, Spirit AeroSystems. Gann was vice president for corporate communications at Spirit and Boeing for 28 years before retiring in 2018. A former chair of the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce, Gann also has held leadership positions for Project Wichita, Music Theatre Wichita and Wichita Festivals.

Lifetime Achievement members, whose total outright giving exceeds $1 million:
Give Something Back
The Sunderland Foundation
Wayne and Kay Woolsey

Lifetime Distinction members, who have given $500,000 to $999,999:
Don and Lora Barry
Cox
Thomas and Kyle Futo
Kay and John Morse

Life Members, who have given $250,000 to $499,999:
BGM Sports Marketing Inc. The Law Offices of Morris Laing
Michael and Linda Howell Eric and Tracy Namee
KWCH TV Larry and Nikki Soice
Lair Foundation James and Barbara Stucky
Brian McNeil and Teresa Fowler-McNeil Trio Machine Inc.

Twenty-four donors who gave a minimum of $20,000 during the previous fiscal year also were recognized as new annual members.

---

The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.