By GARY DEMUTH

Salina Journal

The Greater Salina Community Foundation has received a $4.9 million gift from the estate of the late L.P. "Pat" Mullen to benefit area ministries and school programs.

During a press conference Friday, foundation executive director Betsy Wearing announced a grant of $2,438,622 would be given to the Sister Francis Ellen Endowment Fund to benefit Sacred Heart Jr.-Sr. High School in Salina.

In addition, a grant of $1,219,311 would be presented to the Sisters of St. Joseph Nazareth Academy in Concordia.

"These are the two largest single grants we've made since (the foundation's) inception in 1999," Wearing said.

Mullen, a Salina businessman, engineer, inventor and philanthropist, died in December 2006 at the age of 69. He was a Salina native and the founder and owner of Scientific Engineering in Salina.

Mullen was a student at Sacred Heart when Sister Ellen taught at the school in the early 1950s. Several years ago, Mullen had established an endowed gift in her name at the foundation. With the addition of the estate gift, the fund will generate about $130,000 in annual income for the school, Wearing said.

The grant was accepted by Father Kerry Ninemire, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and John Krajicek, principal of Sacred Heart Jr.-Sr. High School.

The extra funds likely will be used for the school's operating budget, Ninemire said after the press conference.

"It allows us to continue to give assistance to families who cannot afford the full tuition," he said. "It will help us keep a Catholic education affordable for all our families."

"It was a tremendous gift," Krajicek said after the news conference. "We're extremely grateful to the Mullen family for their incredible generosity."

The gift to the Sisters of St. Joseph comes with no restrictions. The sisters travel on missions of mercy, social justice and human rights throughout the U.S.

"This gift will help us continue our ministries, to help educate some of our newer members, and assist with ongoing health issues," said Sister Pat McClennan of the Sisters of St. Joseph said at the news conference.

An immediate gift of $24,448 will go to the Greater Salina Community Foundation for administrative support and will establish the Mullen family as sustainers -- a special group of foundation donors that receive permanent recognition, Wearing said.

The foundation also will make an annual $10,000 grant through the Mullen Fund to KPTS Public Television in Wichita to help underwrite scientific programming on the station.

The remainder of the gift will establish the L.P. "Pat" Mullen Fund at the Salina foundation. The fund will generate about $25,000 in annual grants to support youth education in arts and humanities, and another $25,000 for youth education in science, technology and invention.

"For someone who didn't have a college education himself, (Mullen) greatly valued education," Wearing said.

nReporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by e-mail at gdemuth@salina.com.

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