E.W. Kelley Establishes Scholarship Program; IU Names School of Business in his honor

EDITORS: Excerpts of today's news conference will be available through a satellite uplink today at 3:30-3:45 p.m. (Indianapolis time).The coordinates for the uplink will be Galaxy 9 (C-Band), Transponder 2 (3740mHz-Horizontal), 6.2-6.8 mono audio. For technical assistance, contact WFYI-Ch. 20 at 317-636-2020. For story information, contact either of the people listed above. Business Dean Dan Dalton also will be available for phone interviews this afternoon (Oct. 27) and can be reached at 812-855-8489. Photos of Kelley are available upon request.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University announced today (Oct. 27) the naming of its School of Business in honor of philanthropist E.W. Kelley, whose most recent gift to IU will create an ambitious business scholarship program.

The Kelley Scholars Program has been established to attract, enroll and educate at the Kelley School of Business even more of the nation's most outstanding, intelligent and motivated high school students interested in pursuing an undergraduate program in business.

Kelley, the founder and managing general partner of Kelley & Partners Ltd. and chairman of Consolidated Products Inc., has committed present and future gifts totaling more than $23 million to create the scholarship program. The Kelley Scholars Program will begin in 1998-99 and initially provide full, four-year scholarships to 10 outstanding entering freshmen.

Many in the university community learned of both developments Saturday (Oct. 25) at a private dinner to kick off a new capital campaign for the IU Bloomington campus, but the gift and school's naming are being made public today at a news conference in Indianapolis. The Kelley School of Business at IU has about 170 full-time faculty members and 5,200 students at the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses.

The Kelley Scholars' presence and their impact are expected to play an essential role in the business school's continuous efforts to reach and maintain the premier position nationally in undergraduate business education.

"Mr. Kelley has made the largest gift in the history of the School of Business and Indiana University. His generosity and his long-standing passion for the undergraduate program are matched by his vision," said Dan Dalton, dean of the Kelley School of Business.

"Mr. Kelley, over many years, has dedicated his time, access and resources to the improvement of the School of Business," Dalton added. "His objective is clear: the School of Business at Indiana University will be the best public undergraduate program in the world, second to none."

The business school, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1995, often has been at the forefront of curriculum innovation at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In 1996, U.S. News and World Report placed its undergraduate business program fifth in the nation and Business Week ranked IU's MBA program 15th. Two weeks ago, Business Week ranked IU's non-degree executive education programs 15th. Success magazine included IU in its recent listing of the top entrepreneurship programs.

"With this extremely generous gift, E.W. Kelley has enabled Indiana University to create a significant margin of excellence that will have an indelible impact on the School of Business," said IU President Myles Brand. "His gift is an investment in the future and we are extremely grateful.

"It is Ed Kelley's leadership, and people like him, who build great universities. Indiana University will forever be in his debt and future generations of students will benefit from his generosity and foresight," Brand noted.

"Whether pursuing their School of Business degree programs in Bloomington or Indianapolis, students can count on faculty who stay abreast of current best practices in sales, marketing, management, and other aspects of entrepreneurial success in today's world," added Gerald L. Bepko, IU vice president for long-range planning and chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. "Having the name of E.W. Kelley attached to IU's School of Business underscores that reputation and the distinction Indiana has earned for having one of the top-ranked business schools in America."

Through his gift, Kelley is reinforcing a close association with IU that dates back to the mid-1930s, when he was president of the School of Business student body, president of the student YMCA, chair of the IU Sing, founder of the IU Accounting Club and a member of several student and academic fraternities. He earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from IU in 1939.

As a student, Kelley had several mentors, including University Chancellor Herman B Wells. "I was lucky in that I had a number of people at IU who promoted me to big Eastern corporations, and that's how I got chances to prove myself," Kelley said. A primary reason for his providing the gift, he said, "is to give back to society what society helped me get. I've done that by choosing to support a few special things, and Indiana University is obviously one of them.

"This scholars program should help increase the university's ranking by the encouragement and introduction of high-visibility undergraduate students," Kelley said.

In addition to the new scholarship program, the Sharpsville, Ind., native has provided financial support for several student scholarships and three buildings at IU Kokomo -- the Kelley Student Center, the Kelley House and the new campus library. In 1969, he also established the business school's first fully funded chair, the E.W. Kelley Chair in Marketing/Accounting, at IU Bloomington. He has been a leader in giving to the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, the Mellencamp Pavilion, the Alva Prickett Chair in Accounting and the IU School of Music --- all on the Bloomington campus.

In addition to his economic generosity, Kelley has offered volunteer leadership and service to IU, including serving as a longtime member of the IU Foundation board of directors, the IU Kokomo Advisory Board and the IU School of Business Dean's Advisory Council. He has been elected to the business school's Academy of Alumni Fellows and has received the Distinguished Alumni Service Award and an honorary degree from the university. His wife, Wilma, received both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from IU and has been a strong supporter and an alumni leader. Their three children are all IU alumni.

Over a career spanning more than 55 years, Kelley has tasted success with companies familiar to many such as Macy's, General Foods, Gulf & Western, and Heublein, and served many of them either as chief or as a high-ranking executive. He was instrumental in bringing to the U.S. market such products as Grey Poupon mustard, Klondike ice cream bars, Tang beverage mix, Cool Whip dessert topping and Bird's Eye vegetable dishes.

Kelley is chairman and majority stockholder of Consolidated Products Inc., the parent company of Steak 'n Shake and Consolidated Specialty Restaurants, which operates dinner house restaurants. He also is chairman of Fairmont Snacks Group Inc. and Kelley Restaurants Inc., and has major holdings in Indiana and Florida agribusinesses.

For more information, contact George Vlahakis, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0085 or 812-855-3911, gvlahaki@indiana.edu, or Margaret Garrison, School of Business, 812-855-3369, magarris@indiana.edu