A $100,000 gift from a University of Kansas professor emeritus will help the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center open a scholarship fund for young people.
Robert and Lois Hanzlik made the donation to Peaslee Tech for an endowed scholarship through the Douglas County Community Foundation, Peaslee Tech CEO Kevin Kelley announced in a news release.
“This wonderful gift serves as the foundation and catalyst to build an endowment at Peaslee Tech that will ensure we are training Douglas County residents in high skilled, high income careers for generations to come,” Kelley said in the release.
Bob and Lois both grew up in working class families in Chicago and met in high school, according to the release. They were married in 1965 during their final year of college at Southern Illinois University, where Lois majored in English and Bob in chemistry. Bob went on to complete graduate and doctoral degrees before his career at KU.
Bob joined the KU Medicinal Chemistry Department faculty in 1971 and worked as a professor there for 49 years until he retired in 2020, according to the release. Lois was an avid gardener while caring for the household and became a 32-year volunteer with Audio-Reader at KU, recording books on tape.
During his tenure at KU, Bob learned that professional opportunities he once had were no longer presented to the students he was teaching, according to the release.
“Many of these experiences involved building, disassembling or fixing things by working with various tools and materials,” Kelley said in the release.
The Bob and Lois Hanzlik Scholarship Fund aims to help fill the gap, enabling young people pursue high-skilled careers.
“The courses taught at Peaslee Tech provide a valuable alternative to college for those seeking a good non-academic career,” Kelley said in the release.
Learn more about Peaslee Tech on its website, peasleetech.org, or call Kelley at 785-856-1801 ext. 101.
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