Though it Started at Purdue...
P. A. Mack Jr. gifts to the Matching the Promise campaign
- David Baker Jr. Jazz Scholarship: In honor of the chair of jazz studies to support jazz students.
- Michael Freitag Soccer Scholarship: In honor of the head coach of the men’s soccer team to support varsity soccer players.
- Todd Yeagley Soccer Scholarship: In honor of the assistant coach of the men’s soccer team to support varsity soccer players.
- Mike Mayer Men’s Golf Scholarship: In honor of the coach of the men’s golf team to support varsity golfers.
- Daniel C. Smith Leadership Scholarship: In honor of the dean of the Kelley School of Business for first-year business students.
- Birch Bayh Public Service Scholarship: In honor of the former U.S. Senator to support first-year students pursuing a career in public service.
As the lecture ends, the sound of closing books and rising voices envelop the Purdue University classroom. Two students walk past the double doors and strike out toward a second classroom across campus.
Deep in conversation, their every step strengthens the bond of friendship that will last a lifetime. That bond will also accompany them into roles of leadership and acts of generosity at Indiana University.
A Lasting Bond
You’ll forgive P. A. Mack Jr., one of those former students, if he doesn't recall what he and his friend were discussing between classes.
"It was over 50 years ago," he says, "but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was about ice cream."
P. A.’s friend on that walk was Birch Bayh, who, years later, became United States senator from Indiana. Perhaps their friendship remains so strong today because they belonged to the same fraternity.
Perhaps it was because both majored in agriculture. Perhaps it was because both obtained graduate degrees from IU. Perhaps it was because each stood as best man at the other’s wedding.
Whatever the reasons, as P. A. asserts with a smile, "Ours is a friendship that has endured."
To Honor a Teacher
Now, P. A. has made a gift in his dear friend’s name to IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. But this gift isn’t his first to IU. In all, P. A. has made six gifts through the Matching the Promise campaign and several other gifts apart from the Bloomington campus endowment campaign.
"My aim has been to honor excellence in teaching," he insists. "Teachers give students so much. I know they gave me a lot."
Teachers are where you find them, according to P. A., who has honored coaches, a dean, a composer, and now, a politician through his generosity.
"I’ve been on the campaign trail with Birch. I’ve seen him interact with young people. He is by every measure a great teacher."
A True Friend to IU
P. A. will tell you that he’s made many great friends during his long association with IU—as a student at the Kelley School of Business, as a member of the IU Board of Trustees, and as a member of the IU Foundation Board of Directors.
But IU also has a great friend in P. A. Mack. And with each gift to his alma mater, this distinguished IU alumnus further inspires the great teachers who, like his old friend Birch Bayh, inspire his own generosity.
