Baseball fans hit home run for WSU
By Lynette Murphy
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The number of new planned gifts established with the WSU Foundation has grown substantially over the past 10 years. New planned gifts established per fiscal year were: 1992 - 10 1993 - 5 1994 - 6 1995 - 7 1996 - 9 1997 - 16 1998 - 14 1999 - 16 2000 - 27 2001 (year to date) - 35 To learn more about providing for WSU in your estate, contact Michael Lamb, director of planned giving, 978-3804 or mike.lamb@wichita.edu. |
 Shocker supporters Charlie and Cindy Claycomb will be honored by the WSU Foundation April 6 for their planned gift contributions. Cindy Claycomb has taught marketing at WSU since 1994. The couple, both alums, have season tickets to five sports. Their gift will support baseball and the business faculty. |
One Monday several weeks ago, Cindy and Charlie Claycomb stepped off the airplane at Mid-Continent Airport at 4:30 p.m. after returning from a WSU baseball road trip in California.
By 5 p.m., they were at Wichita’s Old Chicago restaurant, joining Shocker baseball coach Gene Stephenson’s live radio show on KQAM.
"We only miss it if we’re out of town," says Cindy Claycomb, associate professor of marketing and entrepreneurship, of Stephenson’s broadcast. The same goes for all home and away baseball games.
In fact, the couple missed only two games last season, but they had a legitimate excuse — their daughter’s wedding.
Such is the dedication of two fans loyal enough to recently designate part of their estate to Wichita State for the Battery for Baseball, which provides unrestricted funds for the program. Another portion of their estate will provide support for business faculty.
For their generosity, the Claycombs will be inducted into the Society of 1895 on April 6. Society members support WSU with planned gift commitments to the WSU Foundation. This fiscal year, 35 individuals or couples have advised the Foundation of their gift plans.
The Claycombs’ Shocker roots run deep. Both received their undergraduate degrees here, and they took every class in the MBA program together, finishing in 1991. Cindy has taught at WSU since 1994. Charlie is a systems programmer at Boeing, where he’s worked for two decades, as long as the couple has been married.
They started attending baseball games for free while graduate students. Every year they increased their involvement.
They see firsthand the benefits to student athletes. In total, the couple has season tickets to five Shocker sports.
"Playing team sports builds character," says Charlie. "It goes beyond the education."
"Plus, baseball has provided us a lot of enjoyment," Cindy adds.
With each of the Claycombs earning business degrees from WSU, it’s no wonder that part of their gift will support business faculty.
Through Cindy’s teaching position, they understand the challenges of faculty at a state university with tight budgets. In fact, she recently had to purchase an office computer with her own money. As with most departments, funding for equipment and professional conferences is limited.
Thanks to donors like the late W. Frank Barton, who recognized the importance of faculty development funds, Cindy has received a summer research grant every year but one since joining the faculty, and she is grateful for that opportunity.
In that same realm, the Claycombs were inspired to include WSU in their wills when updating their plans last year.
"Often, all we think about are the day-to-day problems, and not what our jobs have really done for us," says Cindy, who feels indebted to a university that has provided her with two degrees and a paycheck.
For the Claycombs, the idea of making a meaningful gift through their estate made sense.
"Estate assets, gifted through a bequest in the will, a trust, a retirement plan or insurance, allow the donor to make a significant gift with assets they will no longer need," says Michael Lamb, director of planned giving for the Foundation.
As with a current gift, donors making a planned gift can direct the contribution to virtually any campus area or program. Thirty-eight current and former faculty and staff have planned gifts pending.
In addition to their estate gift, the Claycombs are loyal current contributors to KMUW, other athletics areas, the Barton School of Business Annual Fund, Ablah Library, Spirit Squad and the Plaza of Heroines.
They regard their contributions to the Foundation — and to the greater community, specifically their church — as a payback for the good they’ve received in their lives.
"We’re continuing in our estate planning what we’ve done throughout our lives," says Charlie. "The ways we’ve been helped are many, and if there are ways we can benefit this community, then we will."
