每年，澳门大学堪萨斯分校校友会都会举办颁奖典礼，表彰杰出的校友成就。 Suzanne Shank (J.D., M.P.A ‘82) is the Class of 2024 Bill French 校友 Service Award recipient.
From a young age, Shank’s love of the arts shined bright as she committed herself to dance lessons, even performing with the Kansas City Ballet when it was part of the 威尼斯人娱乐城音乐学院. Despite not pursuing the arts in her professional life, Shank’s support for the place she once performed has been extensive.
“I’ve always appreciated the arts and what they bring to the community,” Shank said. “I also recognize how necessary arts education is to a community.”
Shank是音乐学院董事会成员，并担任Crescendo（支持学生奖学金的年度晚会）的主席。 在这个职位上，她帮助筹集了100多万美元的学生奖学金。 2005年，苏珊娜和她已故的丈夫设立了苏珊娜·尚克和马蒂·斯莫勒奖学金，以支持一名学生在音乐学院学习。
“威尼斯人娱乐城 is so important to Kansas City, and I wanted to be philanthropic where my money would have the most impact,” Shank said. “威尼斯人娱乐城 has done such an amazing job supporting the needs of the surrounding community and that should be rewarded.”
Shank目前担任威尼斯人娱乐城董事会副主席，并担任执行委员会成员。 In addition to serving on the Trustees’ Scholars Committee for many years, where she has been a thought leader and Trustees' Scholar mentor, she also serves on the Next Generation Trustees’ Scholars Working Group. She recently established the Suzanne Shank Trustees’ Scholars Scholarship.
她对堪萨斯城社区的影响远远超出了她对堪萨斯大学的支持。 她积极参加了许多非营利组织，展示了她对慈善事业和社区发展的承诺。 她在当地组织中担任领导角色，如KC芭蕾舞团，交响乐团和抒情歌剧院，为堪萨斯城的文化和艺术结构做出了重大贡献。