Twelfth Scholarship Hall to be constructed
A $4 million gift in honor of two 1940s KU alumni will fund construction of the 12th scholarship hall on the Hill.
The hall, to house 50 men with outstanding academic and leadership abilities, will be the mirror image of Dennis E. Rieger Hall and constructed adjacent to its north side. Rieger Hall, which is home to 50 women at 1323 Ohio St., opened in 2005. According to University plans, ground will be broken on the new hall in spring 2007 with a goal to complete the project by the start of the fall 2008 semester.
Former state representative and KU alumnus Carl C. Krehbiel, c'70, pledged the gift that will fund the hall. The gift to KU Endowment honors Krehbiel's parents, Kathryn Krehbiel, c'45, and the late Floyd H. Krehbiel, c'47. The University will ask the Kansas Board of Regents to name the hall for the couple.
"I had a great experience living in Stephenson Scholarship Hall when I was a student," said Carl Krehbiel of Moundridge, Kan. "My parents were dedicated to KU and to their children, and this is a way for me to honor them and create a positive living environment for future generations of KU students."
Like its existing twin, Rieger Hall, the new facility will be an 18,000-square-foot, three-story building with an exterior designed to blend in with the neighborhood's turn-of-the-century homes. It will house 50 men in two-person rooms and four-person suites. The hall will have a quiet geothermal heating and cooling system. The design of both halls is the product of a committee of University, community and student representatives who met in 2003. The group worked to develop designs that would recognize the importance of the neighborhood and address historic and preservation issues.
Officials from KU and KU Endowment, the University's fundraising organization, announced the gift and plans for the hall Jan. 27 with Carl Krehbiel and Kathryn Krehbiel in attendance.
"A legislator, a businessman and a retired lieutenant colonel, Carl Krehbiel carries a long tradition of service to his country and his state," said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. "That tradition extends to the future residents of KU's newest scholarship hall, who will ultimately benefit from his foresight and generosity."
An ROTC participant, Carl Krehbiel lived in KU's Stephenson Hall in the late 1960s and studied abroad his senior year. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1970 with a dual degree in Germanic languages and literature and international relations. He also studied at the University of Southern California, where he earned master's and doctorate degrees, and at the University of Munich.
A Vietnam veteran and Green Beret, he served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. He took over the family business, Moundridge Telephone Co., in 1992 following the death of his father. Elected to the Legislature in 1998, he served as a representative for the 74th District until 2006.
Carl Krehbiel has many family connections to KU: his grandfather, Carl C. Krehbiel, c'13; his father, a Battenfeld Scholarship Hall resident; and his mother, who played in the KU band for basketball games in the 1940s.
His gift and construction of the new scholarship hall will be managed by KU Endowment, KU's official fundraising organization.
