Bob and Betty Tointon advance K-State through support across campus
Crack! Wildcat fans cheer as K-State scores another run at the Tointon Family Stadium.
Bob and Betty Tointon, both 1955 graduates of Kansas State University, are longtime supporters of K-State baseball. Yet again, they have stepped up to the plate to invest in K-State Athletics by giving a lead gift to the new baseball and soccer complex project. They’ve also invested in the deanship in the College of Human Ecology — just the second named deanship for the university.
K-State ties
Betty Brammell Tointon came to K-State from McPherson, Kansas, to earn her degree in human ecology. Bob, a graduate of Almena High School in Almena, Kansas, received his degree in civil engineering. Hailing from nearly opposite ends of the state, Bob and Betty met at K-State and served together in the Mortar Board and Blue Key honoraries and as senior class officers. The Tointons built a life together in Greeley, Colorado, but the K-State family was never far from their minds.
Helping where needed is a characteristic of the Tointons that has benefited many areas of K-State. They support the colleges of Human Ecology and Engineering, K-State Athletics and the K-State Alumni Association.
Transformative gifts
Bob and Betty Tointon’s investment in the College of Human Ecology spans from infants to graduate students. They’ve supported the Hoeflin Stone House Early Childhood Education Center and the renovation of Justin Hall. All gifts are important, but the Tointons’ recent investment of the deanship for the College of Human Ecology is truly transformative.
“The Betty L. Tointon Deanship adds prestige and financial flexibility to the college, enabling us to take advantage of emerging opportunities, expand research, provide transformational learning experiences for students, and elevate our ability to build upon our strengths as we strive to improve the human condition,” said John Buckwalter, Betty L. Tointon dean of the College of Human Ecology. “The Tointons’ generous investment ensures our students and faculty will be able to work with cutting-edge technologies in the most modern facilities. It empowers our college to recruit and retain the best faculty and the brightest students. Consequently, by elevating our program in this way, the Tointons are helping us to reach K-State’s goal of being nationally recognized as a top 50 public research university.”
By helping to finance the new K-State baseball and soccer complexes, the Tointons are providing the coaches and student-athletes with the resources and facilities they need to win championships. They’re also helping K-State provide a premier experience for baseball and soccer fans.
“We are truly humbled and honored to be able to make a gift in support of the baseball-soccer facility project,” Bob said. “We are both thankful and grateful for our connection to K-State and how it has provided countless memories and enjoyable times in our lives. The construction of both of these facilities will continue to elevate K-State Athletics and take the baseball and soccer programs to the next level.”
Universitywide commitment
In the College of Engineering, the Tointons support two faculty chairs and a student scholarship.
“Here, in our college, the Tointon name is synonymous with ‘excellence,’” said Darren Dawson, dean of the College of Engineering. “‘Excellence’ is exactly what their two named faculty positions allow us to pursue and retain when it comes to top-notch educators for engineering.”
While the Tointons have generously invested in K-State financially, they’ve also given much of their time to help K-State succeed. They have both served on the KSU Foundation Board of Trustees, and Betty served on the KSU Foundation Board of Directors. Bob and Betty guided the Changing Lives Campaign as members of the national steering committee. Betty was on the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors, and Bob served on the College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council, to name just a few of their leadership activities.
“Bob and Betty Tointon are tremendous friends of K-State. They have given and invested in every entity of our university and their support continues to touch generations of our Wildcat family,” said Amy Button Renz, president and CEO of the K-State Alumni Association. “The association cannot thank them enough for all they have done to enhance our organization. From Betty’s volunteer leadership as a past member of our board, to their being among the first to commit financially to the Alumni Center building campaign, and their ongoing support of our programs, Bob and Betty have been transformational leaders! We are so proud to have the Tointon Family Great Room at the K-State Alumni Center named in their honor and it stands as a lasting legacy to this amazing couple.”
Betty Tointon shared her and Bob’s intentions behind their gifts.
“I am hopeful that the decisions we made enriched the institution so it can always be the best for the faculty, students, athletes and alumni.”
Bob and Betty Tointon’s investment, service and recognition at K-State
Tointon Family Stadium and the K-State baseball and soccer complexes
College of Human Ecology’s Betty L. Tointon Deanship
Betty L. Tointon Classroom in Justin Hall
Tointon Family Infant Toddler Learning Suite at Hoeflin Stone House
Two faculty chairs in engineering’s Department of Construction Science
Tointon Family Scholarship for Engineering Excellence
Tointon Family Great Room in the K-State Alumni Center
Ahearn Fund National Leadership Circle Diamond Level
2006 Medal of Excellence awardees
KSU Foundation Board of Trustees
KSU Foundation Board of Directors (Betty)
Changing Lives Campaign National Steering Committee
K-State Alumni Association Board of Directors (Betty)
College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council (Bob)
This article was previously published in the summer 2018 issue of the K-State Alumni Association’s K-Stater magazine. Learn more about how you can join the K-State Alumni Association and receive the K-Stater in your mailbox.
