KU Endowment remembers Don Hall

Hall’s generosity elevated and enriched the University of Kansas and community through support for faculty, students and cancer research

Don Hall, 96, Kansas City business icon, community leader and philanthropist, passed away on October 13, 2024. As chairman of the Hall Family Foundation, his influence resulted in life-changing gifts to support cancer research and education at the University of Kansas and KU Medical Center, gifts for which KU Endowment and the university will be forever grateful.

The Hall Family Foundation, the private philanthropic organization formed from the estates of Hall’s parents — Hallmark Cards Inc. founder J.C. Hall and Elizabeth Hall — was created to enhance the quality of human life in the Kansas City area. Don Hall was elected chairman of the foundation in 1983, and during his tenure the foundation made numerous transformational gifts to the university. He became chairman emeritus of the foundation in 2016, a position he held until his death.

Dale Seuferling, retired president of KU Endowment, remembered Hall as an accomplished leader who advanced his parents’ vision through philanthropy. He was also, Seuferling noted, a genuine and kind person.

“The University of Kansas and KU Endowment were proud to partner with Don through the Foundation’s support of faculty professorships, humanities programs, cancer research, and world-class facilities for KU students,” Seuferling said.

Hall and his wife of 60 years, Adele Coryell Hall, personally made gifts to benefit KU totaling more than $5.8 million in their lifetimes. Those gifts included support for The University of Kansas Cancer Center and the Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation. The Hall Family Foundation during Hall’s chairmanship gave generous gifts supporting faculty, students and facilities at the University of Kansas and KU Medical Center. Those gifts included millions of dollars in support for the Hall Center for the Humanities at the KU Lawrence campus and $15 million to support the KU Cancer Center’s pursuit of National Cancer Institute designation, which it earned in 2012.

In 2022, the cancer center earned comprehensive status, the NCI’s highest designation, thanks in large part to support from the Hall Family Foundation and Hall’s stalwart belief in the center’s mission and value to the Kansas City community.

KU Cancer Center Director and Vice Chancellor Roy Jenson, MD, said the number of vital community projects in which the Hall Family Foundation played a role were almost too numerous to catalog. But there was no question that Kansas City is a better community because of the efforts of Hall and the foundation.

“Without Don’s steadfast support and strong commitment to the KU Cancer Center, we would never have been able to achieve NCI designation or comprehensive status,” Jensen said.

KU Endowment President Dan Martin recognized Hall’s tremendous influence on the university and the community.

“Don Hall and the Hall Family Foundation reached into every corner of the university and the medical center through philanthropy,” said Martin. “From the humanities to medicine, Don’s vision and generosity have transformed lives, enabled scholarship and advanced science. His legacy is tremendous.”