Planned Gift Will Support Scholarship, Endowed Psychology Faculty Chair

Saint Louis University did far more than educate Dr. Isiaah Crawford, he said. It changed the course of his life. Now, Crawford (A&S ‘82) and his husband, Dr. Kent Korneisel, are helping SLU impact future generations of Billikens through further funding of their existing undergraduate scholarship and a planned estate gift to create a new endowed faculty chair in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“In many ways, this gift is simply our way of paying forward the extraordinary generosity that was extended to me,” Crawford said. “My liberal arts education challenged me intellectually, broadened my perspective, and taught me to think critically, communicate effectively, and approach complex problems with curiosity and compassion.”

In turn, during his impressive career as a university leader, Dr. Crawford has contributed to the transformative education of countless students, said Saint Louis University President Ed Feser, Ph.D.

“I am moved and grateful that the generosity of Dr. Crawford and Dr. Korneisel will support SLU students, and the faculty who teach and mentor them, for generations to come,” Feser said.

An Education That Changed Everything

Crawford’s bachelor’s degree at SLU laid the foundation for a master's and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from DePaul University in Chicago, leading not only to his private psychotherapy practice but also to a career in academia.

Following appointments at Loyola University Chicago and Seattle University, he became the 14th president of the University of Puget Sound. His board memberships include the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the American Council on Education, the Independent Colleges of Washington, and the Seattle Symphony, among others.

Along with multiple honors from the American Psychological Association and other institutions, he earned an honorary Doctor of Education degree from SLU in 2022; that same year, he received an Alumni Merit Award from SLU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Throughout it all, his ties to the University have remained strong.

Although his career took him across the country, SLU always remained home in many respects, he said. His strolls around campus whenever he returned to St. Louis to visit family or see a Cardinals baseball game allowed him to see how the University was evolving while reminding him of the experiences that shaped his life, he added.

Investing in Future Generations of Billikens

In 2020, he and Korneisel strengthened that bond by creating a scholarship in their names. In 2026, they formalized their estate plans, further funding the scholarship and adding a planned $1.5 million gift to establish a new endowed faculty chair in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Including SLU in our long-term philanthropic plans felt like a natural expression of gratitude,” Crawford said. “It is an opportunity to help ensure that future generations of students receive the same life-changing education, mentorship, and opportunities that transformed my own future.”

The department's chair, Jeremiah Weinstock, Ph.D., said the couple's estate gift adds to a commitment and legacy that began with the Isiaah Crawford and Kent Korneisel Scholarship Fund.

"The scholarship provides an opportunity for students who might otherwise not have had the chance to study psychology at SLU," he said. "New people add new perspectives and enhance the experiences of everyone in the department. Conversely, the endowed chair will ensure we have a preeminent scholar who is enriching the educational environment in real and measurable ways. Together, the gifts bookend and truly build upon the vibrancy of our department."

Including SLU in our long-term philanthropic plans felt like a natural expression of gratitude. It is an opportunity to help ensure that future generations of students receive the same life-changing education, mentorship, and opportunities that transformed my own future.”

Dr. Isiaah Crawford (A&S ‘82)

The endowed chair position reflects Crawford’s belief that psychology fuels understanding of what allows people and communities to flourish. The discipline is more relevant now than ever, he said, as we seek to address mental health challenges, strengthen relationships, build healthier communities, and better understand the complexities of human behavior.

To that end, the endowed chair position will provide leadership in the education of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in clinical psychology, help the University recruit and retain top-tier faculty, and increase research and evidence-based funding for the department.

Donna Lavoie, Ph.D., dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said she is deeply grateful to Crawford and Korneisel for making an extraordinary investment in Saint Louis University and in the Department of Psychology.

“Gifts like this create opportunities for students while strengthening the faculty excellence that drives our mission,” she said. “The endowed chair will help the department build on its longstanding strengths in teaching, research, and service, expanding its impact at a time when the need for psychological expertise and mental health leadership has never been greater.”

Giving Back in Gratitude

SLU professors from early in Crawford’s academic career greatly shaped him, he said, as did experiences he had outside the classroom, working with faculty and graduate mentors on research. Those experiences taught him how knowledge is created, how to ask important questions, and how scholarship can improve people's lives, he added.

Combined with the leadership opportunities he enjoyed as a student, they prepared him for a career he could never have imagined when he first arrived on campus. Today, Crawford’s relationship with the University is rooted in thanks, he said, and in the hope that future students benefit from the same educational experience that means so much to him.

“Very few of us arrive where we are entirely on our own,” he said. “Someone believed in us, invested in us, mentored us, or made sacrifices that created opportunities we otherwise would not have had.”

Supporting SLU is, above all else, an expression of profound appreciation for a place that believed in him, challenged him, and prepared him to spend a lifetime helping others realize their own potential, he added.

“If I hope for anything, it is that every student who walks across campus experiences that same sense of possibility,” he said. “Education has the power to transform individual lives, strengthen families, and improve communities. I know that because it did exactly that for me.”