Significant Gift Creates Endowed Funds Supporting Student Care & Faculty Development

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Baylor University today announced a significant gift from Harmon and Lea Kong of Southern California that has created the Kong Family Endowed Presidential Fund for Student Care and the Kong Family Endowed Fund for Faculty Development. The funds give Baylor’s leadership the flexibility to meet the University’s current needs while providing enduring, dedicated resources to support long-term goals and initiatives for future generations of Baylor leaders.

“Our hope is that these funds will fill in the gaps of needed resources that align with Baylor's culture of care for both students and faculty alike,” said Harmon Kong, who along with his wife, Lea, became Baylor Alumni by Choice in 2019.

Noting that their daughter, Haley, earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Baylor, Lea added that she and her husband became passionate about Baylor’s mission as a preeminent Christian research university during their daughter’s time on campus.

“Through her wonderful experience, we learned more about Baylor and were welcomed into the Baylor community,” she said. “We have developed good friendships over the years and have been delighted to experience how the mission of Baylor aligns with our heart.”

The Kong Family Endowed Presidential Fund for Student Care will be used at the discretion of Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone, Ph.D., to provide strategic care for Baylor’s students. Such support can range from providing scholarships to help ensure a Baylor education is within reach for all students to awards that facilitate University initiatives focused on student success and well-being and provide hospitality for interaction between students and the president.

The two funds established by the family are endowed funds, which allow the University to preserve the fund as a permanent endowment; invest and manage the fund; and use the distributed earnings to fund the uses and activities as described to benefit and support Baylor’s faculty and students for as long as Baylor exists.

The Kong Family Endowed Fund for Faculty Development will give Baylor Provost Nancy Brickhouse, Ph.D., key resources to support and provide faculty development opportunities in strategic areas, including travel, scholarship, teaching, improving talent retention and encouraging the expansion of Baylor’s impact nationally and globally.

“As proud Baylor parents and supporters, Harmon and Lea Kong are passionate members of the Baylor Family and truly exemplify the Baylor spirit,” President Livingstone said. “Their Christ-centered approach to philanthropy has guided them toward making a difference in the lives of Baylor students and faculty both today and in the future. We are honored and grateful that they have chosen to come alongside us in our mission to serve as the hands and feet of Christ in communities around the world through our service-oriented students and alumni and the impactful teaching and research of our faculty members.”

By dynamically increasing the resources available to respond to emerging opportunities in the support of Baylor students and the development of Baylor faculty, the two funds endowed by the Kongs dovetail with the commitments articulated in Baylor in Deeds, the University’s strategic plan. With more than 20,000 students from 100 countries and all 50 states, Baylor’s community represents a vibrant mosaic of people, intellects, cultures and aspirations. One of the strategic plan’s central commitments is to prioritize character formation, leadership development, spiritual growth and holistic wellbeing throughout the student experience. Another core commitment is to broaden interdisciplinary research and impact, which the Kong Family Endowed Fund for Faculty Development will directly support.

“Baylor in Deeds is a very ambitious plan, but it’s the right plan for Baylor University at this time and the generous support provided by Harmon and Lea Kong will provide dynamic tools in our pursuit of its goals,” Provost Brickhouse said. “The Kongs stand as shining lights among the Baylor Family in enabling students and faculty members to achieve their full potential through resources that would otherwise be unavailable to them.”

Harmon Kong is the co-founder of Apriem Advisors, a wealth management firm based in Southern California serving multi-generational families. He is also Apriem’s founding director, having spent the previous 25 years as the firm’s chief wealth manager. He recently authored Values Over Valuables, a book that offers strategies for aligning wealth with purpose, ensuring financial decisions reflect what a family most values.

“My father was a college administrator, so I felt I had a small glimpse of the needs for faculty development. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, we clearly saw how student care is an important initiative for the culture and values of Baylor from the very top down,” Harmon Kong said. “Baylor students deserve the very best in their academic experience. Lea and I believe that creating funds for the president and provost to utilize for student care and faculty development are good investments.”

The Kongs have previously supported Baylor University through a gift in 2019 that established an endowed Chair in Global Leadership within Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work. They currently serve on the President’s Leadership Council and the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work board of advisors.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.