KU Endowment board elects new chair, trustees
LAWRENCE — At the Sept. 28 annual meeting of the KU Endowment board of trustees, the board elected David Dillon as chair, William Docking as vice chair and two other KU alumni as trustees. Dillon succeeds Deanell Reece Tacha, who served as chair since 2014.
David Dillon, of Mission Hills, was student body president at KU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business in 1973. He also earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Dillon had various leadership roles with The Kroger Co. before being named CEO in 2003 and elected chairman of the board of directors in 2004. He retired as CEO in 2013 and as chairman of the board in 2014. He was elected to the KU Endowment board in 1991. The KU Alumni Association honored Dillon with the Fred Ellsworth Medallion, the association’s highest honor for alumni, in 2004
William Docking, of Arkansas City, received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1973 and an MBA and a law degree in 1977, all at KU. As a KU student, Docking was inducted into the academic honor societies Phi Beta Kappa, Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1977, the School of Law awarded him the Samuel Mellinger Scholarship, Leadership and Service Award. Docking is the chairman of Union State Bank and president, chairman and CEO of Docking Bancshares, both in Arkansas City. He was a member of the Kansas Board of Regents and was elected to the KU Endowment board in 1985.
New trustees are John Brandmeyer and Gayle Sims.
John Brandmeyer, of Leawood, graduated from KU in 1993 with bachelor’s degrees in business and psychology. He also earned an MBA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a computer information systems degree from Devry University. Brandmeyer is the CEO of Brandmeyer Enterprises, a holding company with interests in financial service, real estate, technology and other businesses. He is a member of the School of Business Board of Advisors.
Gayle Sims, of Cedar Hill, Texas, received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from KU in 1977 and began a career in human resources. Sims retired as director of human resources at the City of Waxahachie, Texas. She is a member of the Women Philanthropists for KU Advisory Board and of the Jayhawk Society. Sims and her husband, Alan, created the Alan E. Sims Student Opportunity Fund in KU’s School of Public Affairs & Administration.
KU Endowment is the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU. Founded in 1891, KU Endowment was the first foundation of its kind at a U.S. public university.