UPDATED: MU keeps Lay's Gift

By Jedd Rosche

Published June 8, 2006

Revised article posted June 15, 2006

Even with a guilty verdict attached to Ken Lay's name, the UM system has no plans to return the endowment donation from the ex-Enron executive. Lay is also an MU alumnus.

UM system spokesman Joe Moore said Tuesday the UM system would keep the money because it is, "an irrevocable gift to the publicly-owned University of Missouri."

Lay made the $1.1 million donation in 1999 to create an endowed chair position for the economics department in the College of Arts and Science.

Moore said the UM system had no plans to change the name of the endowed chair position.

"We have a legal agreement that would require the approval of both parties to change," Moore said. "No one at this point at the university has approached Ken Lay about changing the agreement."

The Kenneth L. Lay Chair in Economics, which was funded partially by MU and the sale of Enron stocks in 1999 before the Texas energy company collapsed, has been empty for the past five years.

"We have made three offers to nationally known faculty members," Moore said. "In each case, those members were retained by their institutions."

Moore said he could not comment as to whether the failure to find a Lay Chair faculty member had anything to do with its name.

The fate of the Lay endowment was a discussed topic amongst the UM system Board of Curators said Maria Curtis, student representative to the board, but said the majority of questions came from the community and media.

"There has been some discussion about that," she said. "However, the most recent agreement was that we would continue to uphold the legal agreement between Ken Lay and the university."

Curtis said she could not elaborate on the state of the endowment.

The University of Houston has two Ken Lay endowed chairs, one in the department of economics and one in political science. Both have been recognized since 1994.

"The University of Houston greatly appreciates all donations and gifts made to support endowed professorships, scholarships and teaching awards," University of Houston spokesman Eric Gerber stated in a public release.

Gerber did not mention any intent to give back the endowments from Lay or to donate them to a charity and Gerber said only the economics chair at the University of Houston is filled.

Article originally posted June 8, 2006:

Even with a guilty verdict attached to Ken Lay's name, the UM system has no plans to return the endowment donation from the ex-Enron executive. Lay is also an MU alumnus.

UM system spokesman Joe Moore said Tuesday the UM system would keep the money because it is, "an irrevocable gift to the publicly-owned University of Missouri."

Lay made the $1.1 million donation in 1999 to create an endowed chair position for the economics department in the College of Arts and Science.

Moore said the UM system had no plans to change the name of the endowed chair position.

"We have a legal agreement that would require the approval of both parties to change," Moore said. "No one at this point at the university has approached Ken Lay about changing the agreement."

The Kenneth L. Lay Chair in Economics, which was funded partially by MU and the sale of Enron stocks in 1999 before the Texas energy company collapsed, has been empty for the past five years.

"We have made three offers to nationally known faculty members," Moore said. "In each case, those members were retained by their institutions."

Moore said he could not comment as to whether the failure to find a Lay Chair faculty member had anything to do with its name.

The fate of the Lay endowment was a hot topic amongst the UM system Board of Curators said Maria Curtis, student representative to the board.

"There has been a lot of discussion about that," she said. "However, the most recent agreement was that we would continue to uphold the legal agreement between Ken Lay and the university."

Curtis said she could not elaborate on the state of the endowment.

The University of Houston has two Ken Lay endowed chairs, one in the department of economics and one in political science. Both have been recognized since 1994.

"The University of Houston greatly appreciates all donations and gifts made to support endowed professorships, scholarships and teaching awards," University of Houston spokesman Eric Gerber stated in a public release.

Gerber did not mention any intent to give back the endowments from Lay or to donate them to a charity and Gerber said only the economics chair at the University of Houston is filled.