Polly Bales


Year Inducted

2005

Career Field

Music, Philanthropy

Highlights

  • Bales Organ Recital Hall, possibly the best organ recital hall in the United States, named for her
  • Founding member of the Fine Arts Advisory Board
  • Established the Bales Teaching Professorship in Organ and the Bales Organ Scholarship Fund
  • Funded the fountain in front of the Dole Foundation Building, among other KU projects
  • Funded music scholarships for female students from the Miyaga Institute in Japan to attend KU
  • 1985: received Fred Ellsworth Medallion from the KU Alumni Association