Couple donates $800,000 for KU Law School

Beebe serves on the law school’s advisory committee for KU’s comprehensive campaign, Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas. “We wanted to do something that not only would contribute to Far Above but that also would help launch the campaign for the law school,” said Beebe. “This campaign, and the private support it will generate, is important for the law school, especially as you see state funding getting harder and harder to come by.”

Dean Stephen Mazza expressed his appreciation. “Lydia and Chuck have used their KU Law degrees to forge highly successful careers, and their success illustrates to current and prospective students the power and reach of a KU Law degree,” he said. “Their incredible generosity toward the school also provides a great example to our alumni about the importance of private support.”

Beebe and Doyle have deep links to KU and the law school. Beebe earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1974 and a law degree in 1977, both from KU. Doyle also earned two degrees from KU, a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1975 and a law degree in 1978. In addition, Beebe’s parents, brother and brother-in-law graduated from KU Law, as did the couple’s niece and sister’s nephew.

“All of us benefited from KU Law being such a strong school,” said Beebe. “Ideally, we want other people who grow up in similar communities in the state to have that opportunity, too. We want the law school to continue to be a strong school and a great launching pad for graduates to have successful careers.”

Beebe later earned an MBA at Golden Gate University. She is corporate secretary and chief governance officer of Chevron Corporation, which she joined in 1977. Doyle held key management positions with United Airlines from 1985 until his 2007 retirement, after which he worked as an aviation consultant. Both have Midwest roots; Beebe grew up in McPherson, Kan., Doyle in Bartlesville, Okla.

Through the years, Beebe and Doyle have remained involved with KU. In addition to serving on the Far Above committee, Beebe is a KU Endowment Trustee and a member of the KU Law Alumni Board of Governors. In 2008, the KU School of Law honored Beebe and Doyle by presenting the James Woods Green Medallion to them. In 2009, the law school named Beebe an outstanding alumna.

In 2005, Beebe and Doyle, with Beebe’s siblings Bion J. Beebe and Janet B. Warren, established the Louise Ahlstedt Beebe and Jack E. Beebe Law Library Fund at KU in memory of their parents.