Tough Professor Revealed as Generous Benefactor

The toughest professors are often the ones we value the most, especially after time provides some perspective. Such was the case with the late Charles Kuhn, Jr. Charles earned his reputation as a strict but effective professor in the University of Central Missouri Harmon College of Business and Professional Studies. He had high expectations, and his students met them.

Through a combination of outright and planned gifts, including a will bequest, he established three scholarships: the Charles G. and Laura Keynon Kuhn Distinguished Theatre Award, the Charles G. and Laura Keynon Kuhn Distinguished Musician Award, and the Charles G. and Laura Keynon Kuhn Distinguished Entrepreneurial Award.

“We have a responsibility to be sure that we provide opportunities for young people to have wonderful experiences as we did, and this is one way to accomplish that for years to come,” he said. “It's payback.”

After receiving his B.S. from UCM in 1951, Charles taught high school in Easton, Mo., for three years. At that time he entered graduate school at the University of Iowa. He accepted a teaching fellowship at Iowa in 1954, completing his master's in 1955 and his doctorate in 1962. He joined UCM in 1958 and retired in 1988. He passed away in 2012.

Charles' passion for the arts combined with his belief in the importance of education led him to endow the scholarships in his parents' names.

“Education is important, but unfortunately the cost is moving beyond the range of many students,” he said. “UCM offers excellent opportunities< it's one of the finest universities in the country. Our students always have done and continue to do wonderful things, and those wonderful things deserve recognition.”

Learn How You Can Help
For more information please contact the Office of Planned Giving at 660-543-8000 or toll-free at 866-752-7257 or [email protected].