A gift from a Kansas couple will help Kansas State University establish 50 new scholarships.

According to the school, the estate of Otis and Wanda Gilliland, Wellington, has given $1.6 million to KSU.  This gift has established the Gilliland K-State Family Scholarship, which creates match opportunities for 50 scholarships in support of students in the university’s College of Business Administration.

New gifts of $30,000 will be matched with $30,000 from the Gillilands’ gift. Also, $10,000 will go into an expendable scholarship fund, making $2,000 scholarships immediately available to students for up to five years. The remaining $50,000 will go into the endowment, ensuring future generations of Wildcats will receive scholarships as well.

Both Otis and Wanda Gilliland graduated from Kansas State University. Otis Gilliland earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering in 1948 and a bachelor’s in business administration from the College of Business Administration in 1949. Wanda Gilliland earned her bachelor’s degree in interior design in 1949 from the College of Health and Human Sciences. Otis Gilliland worked as an engineer for Boeing Aircraft Company in Wichita before his retirement in 1985. Wanda Gilliland died in 2013, and Otis Gilliland died in July 2019.

“The scholarships made possible from the Gilliland family’s gift will have a profound impact on our student body,” said Kevin Gwinner, Edgerley family dean of the College of Business Administration. “With these scholarships, we will attract more student leaders, further challenge high-achieving students, and fully engage those who desire our unique academic offerings and extracurricular experiences that make our business graduates so highly demanded by employers. Because these scholarships will be endowed, the Gillilands’ generosity toward the business college will be felt for generations.”

If interested in participating in the K-State Family Scholarship Program, visit www.ksufoundation.org/family for more information or contact Sheila Walker, associate vice president of development, at 785-775-2050.