Kent State Mourns Longtime Philanthropist Olga Mural
Kent State University is mourning the death of Olga Mural, a Cleveland and Akron philanthropist who was one of the top donors to the university.
A graduate of Akron’s Garfield High School, Mrs. Mural spoke often of her love of playing the violin, and won a statewide music competition at age 16. In 1940, she enrolled at Kent State, where she also met her husband, Walter. The couple lived for many years in Brecksville. Mr. Mural, a 1941 graduate of the Kent State College of Business Administration who later earned a law degree at Western Reserve University, was vice president and treasurer of Herron Testing Laboratories before his death in 1983.
Mrs. Mural was among the top five contributors to Kent State, with numerous gifts to endow funds in the College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and athletics. Those contributions included:
- A major gift supporting 10 Founders Medallion Scholarships at the College of Business Administration, which provide full-tuition support to a student.
- A significant gift to the financial engineering program, including an associate professorship and a contribution to name the Financial Engineering Trading Floor.
- A major gift to the nursing program, including an associate professorship, a Founders Medallion Scholarship and a nursing simulation laboratory.
- Support for the baseball team, including a gift to name the field and a student-athlete scholarship.
- A generous gift to the President’s Entrepreneurial Fund, for use in areas of greatest need.
For her tremendous philanthropy, Kent State adopted Mrs. Mural as its “angel,” a moniker she was pleased to receive.
“Very few universities are blessed with an angel like Olga,” President Lester A. Lefton said. “On so many occasions, she quite literally answered our prayers to enrich the lives of our students.”
“Olga was the first of our renaissance mega-philanthropists,” said Joe Macedo, associate vice president for gift and estate planning. “More than any specific program, she loved Kent State, and directed her giving to many university areas. She ‘shopped’ for projects that interested her across a broad range of programs.”
Mrs. Mural also made contributions to the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the John Happy CLL Research Foundation.
Start your campaign conversation today.
Kent State University Foundation
P.O. Box 5190
Kent, OH 44242-0001
330-672-2222
advancement@kent.edu
Kent State Mourns Longtime Philanthropist Olga Mural Kent State University is mourning the death of Olga Mural, a Cleveland and Akron philanthropist who was one of the top donors to the university. A graduate of Akron’s Garfield High School, Mrs. Mural spoke often of her love of playing the violin, and won a statewide music competition at age 16. In 1940, she enrolled at Kent State, where she also met her husband, Walter. The couple lived for many years in Brecksville. Mr. Mural, a 1941 graduate of the Kent State College of Business Administration who later earned a law degree at Western Reserve University, was vice president and treasurer of Herron Testing Laboratories before his death in 1983.Mrs. Mural was among the top five contributors to Kent State, with numerous gifts to endow funds in the College of Business Administration, College of Nursing and athletics. Those contributions included:
“Very few universities are blessed with an angel like Olga,” President Lester A. Lefton said. “On so many occasions, she quite literally answered our prayers to enrich the lives of our students.” “Olga was the first of our renaissance mega-philanthropists,” said Joe Macedo, associate vice president for gift and estate planning. “More than any specific program, she loved Kent State, and directed her giving to many university areas. She ‘shopped’ for projects that interested her across a broad range of programs.” Mrs. Mural also made contributions to the American Red Cross, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the John Happy CLL Research Foundation. |
Start your campaign conversation today. Kent State University Foundation P.O. Box 5190 Kent, OH 44242-0001 330-672-2222 advancement@kent.edu |