GU Residence Hall Name Honors Kaufmann Family Connection

GREENVILLE, IL - Kaufmann Hall, the new residence hall under construction on Greenville University’s campus, is named in honor of Dr. M. Kenneth Kaufmann and family. It only seems fitting to name the new building that will house 246 students after the man who offered up space in his own home to many students who needed it.

Most GU alumni from 1959 to 2000 recall Dr. Kenneth Kaufmann (Class of 1949) as Greenville College’s physician, husband to Stella (Butcher ’54), and father to seven children, six who attended GU. He also taught health and science classes at the institution.

Over the years, he and his family opened their home to at least 24 students, a gesture that helped his young house guests afford college. Jerry Britt, a 1983 alumnus, stayed with the Kaufmanns during his sophomore year and remembers his time there fondly. He says they treated any student who lived with them like family.

“Dr. Kaufmann was a successful doctor, but a down-to-earth guy who seemed to know and care about each of us as individuals,” Britt reminisces. “If it were not for people like the Kaufmanns who gave back to the college community, I would not have been able to attend.”

Dr. Kaufmann also served in many capacities at the local hospital and at the local health department. He was included in the Who’s Who in the Midwest in 1972-73 and 1978-79 and recognized with Greenville College’s President’s Award in 1974. He served on the Board of Trustees for Greenville College for many years and both he and Stella served the College on the Parent’s Cabinet, the Alumni Board, and helped in many fundraising campaigns.

His medical office building became The Kaufmann Building, a part of Greenville University, and housed the alumni office for many decades. It also served as the advancement office for a time, before serving as the Center for Visual Culture and Media Studies (CVCMS), a collaboration between the departments of English, communication, digital media, and art.