Photo: Don Tolly
Culver-Stockton College alumnus Don Tolly ’87 will return to his alma mater on Tuesday, Oct. 27, as the guest speaker for the Culver-Stockton College Betsy (Curtright) Kraus Endowed Lecture.
Tolly will spend the day engaging with C-SC students and classes before delivering the public Kraus Lecture at 6:30 p.m. (Oct. 27) in Merillat Chapel, located inside the Robert W. Brown Performing Arts Center. His presentation is open and free to the public.
Tolly graduated from C-SC with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and brings nearly four decades of leadership and insurance industry experience to campus. During his undergraduate career at C-SC, he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega and a multi-sport athlete, competing in four years of football and one year of baseball.
Tolly has spent 39 years in the insurance industry, including 37 years with American Family Insurance. After beginning his corporate career as a claims adjuster in 1989, he advanced to serve as director of account development. Today, Tolly is a certified member of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and operates three insurance offices in St. Joseph and Kansas City, Missouri.
In his book, “Build on Value, Grow with Heart,” Tolly shares lessons from his career journey, emphasizing a people-first leadership philosophy rooted in service to customers and employees. His contributions to his industry and community have earned him notable recognition, including American Family Insurance’s Community Impact Award for the state of Missouri in 2022. He was also named one of Ingram’s Magazine’s “50 Missourians You Should Know” in 2021.
The Betsy (Curtright) Kraus Endowed Lecture series holds special significance at Culver-Stockton College, established by Joe W. Kraus in loving memory of his wife, Kathryn Elizabeth (Betsy) Curtright Kraus. Both Joe and Betsy Kraus were alumni of Culver-Stockton College, with Joe earning undergraduate degrees in English and library science.
Contact the Marketing & Public Relations Office, at pr@culver.edu or 573-288-6000 ext. 6728 for more information.
NOTE: A number that appears immediately after a person’s name (i.e. Jane Doe ’18) is a reference to the year that person earned their bachelor’s degree from Culver-Stockton.