McGinley retires, leaving mark on campus
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 07/13/2009
Nisha Deo | Summer Reporter
Former Board of Trustees chairman Tim McGinley bids farewell with his wife Jane at his retirement reception Friday.
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Upon Timothy McGinley’s last board meeting Friday morning, his wife Jane said, “Even though he is retiring, if we got in the car with our eyes closed, we would end up at Purdue.”
McGinley stepped down from his position Friday after 20 years as a trustee and 16 years a chairman. Despite his departure, McGinley said, “I will always be involved with Purdue.”
McGinley was appointed to the Purdue Board of Trustees in 1989 and was subsequently reappointed to the board six times. He was elected chairman of the board in 1993 and served with three presidents. A reception was held Friday afternoon for McGinley. Attendees included former Purdue presidents Steven Beering and Martin Jischke and surprise visits from State Reps. Sheila Klinker and Randy Truitt as well as Sen. Ron Alting.
“Right from the start I knew that he was a man of integrity, of great empathy and compassion and love for this institution,” Beering said.
McGinley played a key role in the selection of both Jischke and Córdova as Purdue Presidents.
“These have been a great 20 years,” Jischke said. “An enormous amount of progress was made at Purdue due in large part to the wonderful leadership that Tim provided.”
Jischke also said that McGinley was not shy about encouraging his friends to contribute to the initiatives to the University. During his tenure on the board, the West Lafayette campus alone completed more than 70 major facility construction and renovation projects valued at more than $792 million. Together, Jane and McGinley have donated gifts and pledges totaling $2 million toward scholarships for students and renovations of Mackey Arena.
McGinley said that one of his greatest disappointments as trustee is although his three children and their spouses have earned a cumulative of thirteen degrees, none of them are from Purdue. McGinley has his signature on about 200,000 Purdue diplomas, including the one belonging to newly elected chairman, Keith Krach.
Krach said when he thinks of McGinley he thinks of three words: leader, mentor and legend. He said that McGinley has “good old Midwestern values.”
“I am very humbled and honored by my appointment as chair,” Krach said. “The plan is to set on the course of the strategic plan.”
Krach earned his B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Purdue and an MBA from Harvard University. He currently is the CEO of 3-Points, LLC, an investment holding company based in Los Gatos, California.
McGinley was honored with the naming of a plaza in Discovery Park as recognition of his dedication to the University. “It’s only fitting that Tim McGinley’s legacy at Purdue be celebrated with a campus landmark that is meant to be a gathering place for people and their ideas,” Córdova said. “During Tim’s time on the board ... Purdue benefited from his guidance and vision.”
The J. Timothy McGinley Plaza is between Mann Hall and Bindley Bioscience Center and the Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship.