WKU business students will benefit from a recent gift announcement for years to come.  In tonight’s “View from the Hill”, Amy Bingham tells us how this multi-million dollar commitment was almost kept anonymous.

It’s another example of a successful alumnus giving back to the school that brought so much opportunity.  And for WKU, it goes down as the third largest one-time gift in the school’s history.

“They did a good job getting out the wrinkles, at least the photos won’t age.”

D.B. and Lula Burchett weren’t expecting to see their likeness alongside other WKU donors..in fact, they had initially wanted their gift announcement to be anonymous.

“If we probably could have had our way we would have done it with little fanfare whatsoever.”

But a seven million dollar estate commitment doesn’t come along everyday.

“They convinced us if we were gonna do this we should make an announcement so maybe others would say I’m gonna do it too.”

The humble Tennessee couple grew up in nearby Russellville.  Lula once attended the Bowling Green Business University but dropped out so D.B. could get his degree.

“If Doris hadn’t gone back it would have been a brain wasted…”

Burchett was given the chance to interview with some top companies while finishing his degree at WKU in 1967.

“I ended up going to work for Arthur Anderson at that time a leading cap firm in the nation.”

That led to a successful thirty year career that included travelling nearly two million business miles.  Now the couple feels privileged to lave behind a legacy gift.
“It’s something we hope will help other students or people who maybe don’t have the opportunity in life like we had..not having children makes our life worthwhile.”

And they’ve even come to terms with the recognition.

“It’s one of those things where you say maybe they shouldn’t have done that but your kind of glad they did.