Chancellor Kristin Sobolik congratulates Ken and Nancy Kranzberg after presenting them with the E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Medal for Philanthropy during the 33rd annual Founders Celebration Thursday at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)

Ken and Nancy Kranzberg have put their stamp on the cultural fabric of St. Louis with their support of the arts.

They are perhaps best known for helping transform the Grand Center Arts District, including the launch of the Kranzberg Arts Foundation, which provides artists with studios, workspaces and public venues to create, display and perform their work.

The Kranzbergs have championed many other causes, too, both through their philanthropic giving and service on civic and nonprofit boards. They’re strong supporters of education and have invested heavily in the University of Missouri–St. Louis, endowing professorships and student scholarships and contributing to capital projects such as the construction of the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center and the Public Media Commons in Grand Center and the renovation of the Thomas Jefferson and St. Louis Mercantile Libraries currently underway.

In recognition of that support over more than 35 years, Chancellor Kristin Sobolik presented the Kranzbergs with the 2024 E. Desmond and Mary Ann Lee Medal for Philanthropy Thursday night during the 33rd annual Founders Celebration, which drew an audience of roughly 200 alumni, friends and supporters to the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall at the Touhill.

“As our friends, we are so honored to recognize you tonight with the university’s highest honor,” Sobolik said after calling the Kranzbergs onto the stage. “Ken and Nancy, thank you for believing in the University of Missouri–St. Louis and investing in our work. And also thank you for believing in the St. Louis community.

“They are such broad supporters all across our ecosystem. We are so profoundly proud and grateful to them.”

Neither Kranzberg is a graduate of UMSL. Ken, the chairman emeritus of packaging industry leader TricorBraun, studied at William and Mary, while Nancy, who provides monthly commentary on the arts for St. Louis Public Radio, earned her degree in education from Washington University. But both lifelong St. Louisans believe strongly in the value UMSL brings to this region.

Current students Abby Wall (at left) and Devin Womack each spoke about the impact scholarships have made on them as they pursue their academic goals. Wall, an Opportunity Scholar, is majoring in mathematics and computer science. Womack, a nontraditional student who enrolled at UMSL after 16 years in the workforce, is on track to graduate in December with a degree in business administration.

“It really is fantastically important,” Ken said after accepting the medal. “It educates so many people and gives them a chance to have an education that is going to be make a huge difference in their lives. And only the University of Missouri–St. Louis can do that, and they do a great job.”

Ken is a former member of the Chancellor’s Council and served as president of the board of the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, which he called a “worldwide gem.”

Nancy shared some more personal reflections on her experiences with the UMSL community over the years.

“Chancellor Tom George and I had really kicked our heels up and sang, and he played the piano in our own band,” she said. “And of course, Karen Lucas, who I see down there, and I were pals with the Center for the Humanities. Karen always had great programs. John Neal Hoover at the Mercantile Library, Terry Suhre at Gallery 210 – I had some great times here.”

The Kranzbergs were previously honored with UMSL’s Distinguished Service Award in 2008, and each received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the university in 2009. But it might have meant even more to them to accept a medal named in honor of and first presented to Des and Mary Ann Lee.

“Mary Ann and Des Lee were the nicest people you could imagine, and we knew them when we were a young couple and they were much, much older than we were, but they were so darn nice to us,” Ken said. “In those days, we didn’t have any ability to be philanthropists, but they didn’t care. They were with us. They came to things that we did. That makes this so much more significant.”

As the Kranzbergs once took lessons from the Lees about philanthropy, they’re now in a setting an example for others to emulate.

Attendees of Thursday night’s Founders Celebration were treated to a performance by the Arianna String Quartet, featuring (from left) John McGrosso, Jane Price, Kurt Baldwin and Joanna Mendoza.

Thursday’s Founders Celebration served as an opportunity to express gratitude to some other individuals who have followed their lead offering generous support of the university over the past year.

Attendees had ribbons on their name tags showing their membership in both the Goode Society and the 1963 Society. The former is named in honor of UMSL founder Wayne Goode and is made up of donors who commit $1,000 or more annually to the university. The latter commemorates the year of the university’s founding and is comprised of donors who are making provisions to support the future of the university through a variety of estate planning options.

UMSL also has giving society, known as the Chancellor’s Circle, for supporters who have contributed at least $100,000 to the university in their lifetimes. Thursday night, Sobolik recognized the newest members of that society, walking down the aisle through the audience and stopping to offer her personal thanks to each individual or couple.

The group included:

• Terry and Carol Elmendorf, who have provided support to the College of Business Administration, College of Nursing Simulation Center and student scholarships
• Shawntelle Fisher, who has endowed student scholarships and made a legacy gift to benefit future generations of students
• Paul and Sharon Martin, who have made long-standing contributions to the College of Business Administration and the Department of Accounting
• Paul Matteucci, who has provided support for student scholarships in the Department of Information Systems and Technology and has also contributed to the work of the UMSL Alumni Association and the construction of the new Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center
• David Reifschneider, the president of the UMSL Alumni Association Board of Directors, who has also contributed to the construction of the Richter Family Welcome and Alumni Center

Phyllis Evans, Mike and Debra Deniszczuk and Orv and Latriece Kimbrough are also new members of the Chancellor’s Circle but were unable to attend the Founders Celebration. Evans has been a supporter of the university for more than 35 years and has contributed to scholarships for engineering and degree completion. The Deniszczuks have contributed to the renovation of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center while the Kimbroughs have endowed student scholarships. There were others new members who wished to remain anonymous.