Scott Gifts Expand CEO Forum, Endow a Professorship, and Support Strategic Priorities

Tom and Betty Scott, long-time friends and donors to the MU College of Business, announced at the beginning of March that they will make a $2.5 million estate gift to the college. 

“The Scotts are certainly among the college’s greatest supporters, and we are very grateful of that.  Their sponsorship of our college’s CEO Forum, which brings renowned business leaders to campus, really enriches the education of our students,” says Bruce Walker, dean of the MU College of Business.  “We are very thankful for this generous new gift that will help the college fulfill its educational mission in the future.”

The $2.5 million estate gift will be allocated to three endowments in the College of Business:

• The Tom and Betty Scott Fund for Excellence.  The annual proceeds of this new endowment will be used to advance the college’s strategic priorities.
• The Tom and Betty Scott Distinguished Professorship in Risk Management.  This new position will be awarded to an outstanding faculty member who teaches and conducts research related to risk management. 
• The Tom and Betty Scott CEO Forum.  This part of the Scotts’ gift will augment the endowment that the Scotts funded in 1999 to support this lecture series.

Following the announcement of their $2.5 million
gift, the Scotts attended the CEO Forum featuring
Jack Stack, president and CEO of SRC Holdings.
The Scotts are regular attendees at the lecture
series they sponsor.

“Betty and I are pleased to be able to lend our support to the MU College of Business,” says Tom Scott.  “We have personally seen how the CEO Forum has benefited students, and we are excited to be able to further the mission of the college through these gifts.  The education I received at MU was crucial to my career, and Betty and I both are eager to see today’s students grow through opportunities and resources offered by the college.”  

Tom Scott (BS BA ’58) attended MU on a football scholarship from 1954 to 1958. After graduating, he began a career in insurance that lasted more than 40 years. He developed a group of companies that operated as the Insurance Management Corporation.  Betty Scott attended the MU School of Nursing from 1956 to 1958 and served as office manager for a group of Kansas City surgeons for 40 years, retiring in 1998.

The Scotts are also major supporters of the MU School of Veterinary Medicine, where they have endowed a professorship. The Scotts are members of the College of Business’ Davenport Society and MU's Jefferson Club. 

Tom Scott was honored with a Citation of Merit from the College of Business in 2001.  In December 2004, the University of Missouri-Columbia awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree to Tom Scott in recognition of his professional achievements and long-standing involvement with MU.