Why is it important/what motivates you to give back to the College of Pharmacy?
Purdue has been such an important part of our life that it almost feels like extended family, and we all want to do whatever we can to take good care of our family. I first visited the campus as an eighth grader, I loved it, and never seriously considered going to college anywhere else. My parents, and my own, investment in my education at Purdue has afforded us a very comfortable life, and it was the bargain of a lifetime. It's only fair to give back.
You have made a planned gift. Why did you decide to use this specific vehicle (will, annuity, CRT, etc.) to make a gift?
We’ve made annual gifts to the College of Pharmacy for years, usually dividing our gift between the Dean’s Office, the IPPH Department, and the R. Patrick Hill Memorial Endowment in Pharmacy. We’ve always taken advantage of corporate matching gifts, most recently through Baxter Healthcare. I’m surprised, and disappointed, by the number of people who don’t take advantage of this very attractive benefit.
Planned giving is simply an acknowledgement that we won’t always be around to give our annual gift, and we both like the idea of establishing an endowment that has our names associated with it.
What was your experience at Purdue as a student? Any particularly fond/humorous memories of your days at Purdue?
I was a Purdue student as both an undergraduate (chemical engineering) and a graduate student (Industrial and Physical Pharmacy). As an undergrad, I have fond memories of the hours spent at the Co-Rec gym, and seldom missed a home football or basketball game. My best memory by far, though, is meeting Lisa, who was my sister Kate’s roommate in Shreve Hall. We’ve been married for nearly forty years, we have two terrific sons (Dan and Landon), two wonderful daughters-in-law (Megan and Michelle), and three adorable grandsons (Alex, Andrew, and Dexter).
Graduate school in IPPH was a real pleasure. I don’t think that I’ve ever had better times, better friends, or a more stimulating environment. I’ll always be grateful to my advisor, Dr. Stan Hem, for his encouragement and support. In my exploration of several different graduate programs, Stan was the first faculty member who took an interest in me as an individual.
How do you hope your planned gift will impact the College of Pharmacy and its students in the future?
I’m concerned about the future of physical science-based graduate education in development and manufacture of pharmaceutical dosage forms—what we have traditionally called pharmaceutics. We want to do our part to ensure its future by providing stipend support for graduate students in IPPH. I’m grateful for the financial support I received as a graduate student, and it feels right to “pay it forward” by supporting future generations of pharmaceutical scientists.
Do you hope that your planned gift will inspire others to do the same?
That would be a very nice plus. My fellow IPPH alumni are kind hearted folks who have done well professionally, and they are very loyal to Purdue. It may only take a reminder that this mechanism of giving is available, and it's not difficult to do.