Mark A. & Ann Varnau

Why is it important/what motivates you to give back to the College of Pharmacy?

As I progressed through life, I began to realize how important the education I received was - from great professors and from a great University - to how I lived my life and how I reacted to the world around me. Any way I can help pay back the College to assure that other students will have the same opportunities is essential to me.

You have made a planned gift. Why did you decide to use this specific vehicle (will, annuity, CRT, etc.) to make a gift?

In addition to annual gifts, I wanted to leave the College of Pharmacy a gift in my will to be certain a "parting" remembrance was in place.

What was your experience at Purdue as a student? Any particularly fond/humorous memories of your days at Purdue?

Memories I can tell publicly admit to include Dr. Charles Lee reprimanding me for smoking (he was a pioneer in knowing the hazards); Dr. Sperandio urging us in Kappa Psi to take on the responsibility of being the newly designating "Purdue Pete" (unfortunately we ignored his vision); Dr. Zufal asking on a pharmacology test "how far is it to the moon?" (little did we know Neil Armstrong was a fellow student at the time).

How has your pharmacy education shaped your life/career?

It wasn't only the education, it was the support of people like John Bothel with whom I consulted three years after graduation, subsequent to a hitch in the Army, about career opportunities in Indiana and Dr. Gustav Cwalina with whom I spent a productive evening the year after graduation to pick his brains about life in general, the military, Purdue and the pharmacy profession. Dedicated mentors have made me aware of the fact that there is more to life than work and that being a responsible citizen is perhaps the most important thing we can do.

How do you hope your planned gift will impact the College of Pharmacy and its students in the future?

I would hope that in some small way it will allow the professors to spend some effort relaying to the students a sense of honesty, fair play and justice as they progress in their lives.