Dr. Richard Kip: Beloved business dean still transforming lives
Dr. Richard Kip is remembered for many things at the University of North Florida. Some stories recall the bow-tie loving professor walking through UNF buildings and turning off lights in empty classrooms. Other stories detail how he shunned purchasing lunch, preferring instead to bring his lunch every day - a yogurt, a banana, and a bag of marshmallows. However, Kip's legendary frugality had its benefits, especially for what is now the Coggin College of Business. Today the UNF Foundation has multiple endowments carrying the Kip name with a total value of more than $3.9 million. The impact of these endowments has been transformational, said Dr. Earle Traynham, a former colleague of Kip's. "This remarkable man, in his quiet and understated way, transformed the College of Business - benefiting faculty and students alike," said Traynham, who served as the college's dean from 1993 to 2003 and as UNF provost from 2013 to 2017.
Dr. Kip arrived at UNF in 1971 - well before the students began enrolling - and helped founding Dean Jim Parrish build the College of Business. Dr. Kip served in a variety of roles, including assistant dean and director of Graduate Studies, before retiring in 1983 - completing a 47-year career in education. It was after his retirement, however, that the surprises began. In 1989 he gave his wife, Kathryn Magee Kip, a card on her 85th birthday. The card contained an agreement establishing a $100,000 UNF endowment in her name in the College of Business. That gift was quickly followed by a second endowment in his name.
However, that wasn't the end of the surprises. Unbeknownst to anyone at UNF, Kip established several charitable remainder trusts allowing him, his wife, and a few relatives to receive the income of those trusts with UNF receiving the principal after their deaths. When Kip and his wife both died in 1996, the full extent of their generosity became apparent. The UNF Foundation received more than $2.8 million. "Dick never wanted any recognition. We were astounded when we realized the scope of the gifts," Traynham said.
The college has used the money slowly and deliberately, not only to recruit and retain the best and brightest faculty to UNF but to help students as well. A Kip Prize exists to this day to reward outstanding business students. Funds were also given to faculty to undertake research during summer months. "It enabled us to compete against much larger schools. No state funds were available for research at the time. It helped us recruit some wonderful faculty members," Traynham said.
One of the current Kip Professors, Mina Baliamoune-Lutz, says, "This award has allowed me to free up significant time that I used to spend trying to get sources of funding for my conference attendance and other research activities. To have a professorship named after a great individual, Dr. Richard de Raismes Kip, who was an economist and educator, is a very special honor for me as an economist whose greatest joy has always been in teaching."
