The Victor Wilson Effect
Kansas Citian's legacy continues to provide funding for significant university improvements and scholarships
BY ALYSSA LALLY
Sydney Peck, one of the many UMKC students who have benefitted from Victor Wilson's generosity PHOTO / BRANDON PARIGO
In 1883, at the age of 2, Victor Wilson and his family moved to Kansas City, where his father led a successful wholesale grocery business. Wilson eventually took over the family business and left an enduring mark on his hometown when he established a financial legacy that has funded the education of thousands of University of Missouri-Kansas City students and major capital improvements.
The Victor Wilson Trust, created after his death in 1948, stipulates criteria for scholarships: students must be from Kansas City, demonstrate financial need and make good grades. Recipients could attend the University of Kansas City, now UMKC, or Yale University, Wilson’s alma mater. The intent was to establish a brain trust in Kansas City.
A feature about Wilson published in 1958 detailed that more than 400 students had received a UMKC or Yale education through Victor Wilson Trust scholarships. Here’s how the article concluded:
"If even one fourth of the eventual 3,500 scholarship recipients remain in the Kansas City area after completing their education, this community should be ever grateful for the forward-looking mind and the philanthropic spirit of Victor Wilson."
Kansas City roots and Yale connections
Wilson does not appear to have had strong ties to UMKC specifically, but he demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the betterment of Kansas City.
Wilson’s father founded the town of Salida, Colorado, and became its mayor before moving the family to Kansas City when Wilson was a toddler, and buying into Ryley-Eddy & Co., a wholesale grocery business that later became Ryley-Wilson Grocer Co. Though no longer in business, the company’s brick building still stands in the West Bottoms district of Kansas City.
In 1901, Wilson graduated from Central High School in Kansas City and then received a PhB, or Bachelor of Philosophy, in 1905 from Yale University.
Wilson became president of Ryley-Wilson Grocery upon his father’s death in 1930. He was a board member of the Kansas City Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kansas City Art Institute as well as a member of the Kansas City Country Club, University Club and Citizens Historical Association.
Wilson was married to Ethel Long for 16 years before her death in 1934. They had no children. In 1948, Wilson died. He left money to his only living relatives, two grand nieces, and the remaining $1.5 million established the trust fund for the scholarships to Yale and UMKC.
Another condition of the trust, according to the will: 75 years after Wilson’s death, “the remainder of the trust is to be distributed to the University of Kansas City (later UMKC) to be used for building purposes or to the best advantages of the university.”
“It’s a real example of both the power of planned giving and the power of philanthropy,” said Amanda Davis (MPA ’07), chief advancement officer and president of the UMKC Foundation. “Generations of students have benefitted from his generosity.”
Sydney Peck PHOTO / BRANDON PARIGO
Student scholarships
Part of that group includes Sydney Peck, who has always known she wanted to pursue a career in science. The UMKC junior took as many STEM-related courses as possible in high school and then enrolled at UMKC as a dual major in biology and chemistry with the goal of becoming a physician’s assistant.
“UMKC has a mix of everything that I was looking for in a school,” Peck said. “I was impressed with the esteem of the science and health degrees offered by the school, and with Hospital Hill a few minutes away, I have access to professional development opportunities.”
While the academics are what drove her to pursue a degree, Peck has also pursued other activities, including working as a medical assistant, pursuing a minor in integrated performing arts and participating in student organizations, thanks to the help of the Victor Wilson Scholarship.
“This scholarship has allowed me to pursue two degree programs while continuing to pursue my musical interests without the stress of additional course costs,” Peck said. “With a lifted mentality, I can participate in additional UMKC clubs and organizations while pursuing leadership positions to further enhance my experiences.”
The impacts of Wilson’s gift are even larger when including the scholarship recipients who attended Yale.
“It was a life-altering experience for them because it made the economic decision to go to Yale easier,” said Greg Wolf, president of the Yale Club of Kansas City.
It wasn’t only students who benefitted. The scholarships have had lasting impacts on Kansas City, gifting the community with authors, actors and leaders.
“Kansas City is known for brain drain, where a lot of bright kids would go away to college and then [do] not come back,” Wolf said. “The Victor Wilson Scholarship gives them the freedom to come back to Kansas City because they don’t have the school debt.”
University upgrades
Scholarships are just the beginning of Wilson’s gift. In 2023, with the 75-year stipulation in Wilson’s will, the Victor Wilson Trust could be used for important university initiatives.
In Fall 2024, the trust offered a $1 million match for the first part of the transformative creation of a student success complex. This initial phase will overhaul the fourth floor of the UMKC Miller Nichols Library to house crucial academic services that support degree completion. This renovated space will be named in honor of Wilson.
The renovation will feature open study spaces, meeting rooms and laptop stations. It also will be home to some programs currently housed across other parts of the Volker Campus. This will give students a single location to access programs including tutoring and the internationally renowned Supplemental Instruction, founded more than 50 years ago by UMKC. The space will also house other UMKC signature programs, including the Peer Academic Leadership program, First Gen Roo Scholars and Men of Character Academy.
In addition to the Victor Wilson match, a $2 million grant from the UMKC Miller Nichols Charitable Foundation allowed donors to triple the impact of their gifts for the fourth-floor renovations, expected to open to students in the Fall 2025 Semester.
UMKC students, alumni and leaders are grateful for Victor Wilson.
“His gift,” said Davis of the UMKC Foundation, “will continue to have impact on an even wider group of students for decades more to come.”
"It’s a real example of both the power of planned giving and the power of philanthropy. Generations of students have benefitted from his generosity."
—Amanda Davis (MPA ’07), chief advancement officer and president of the UMKC Foundation.
Sydney Peck PHOTO / BRANDON PARIGO