A man who made a difference, and a model of deferred giving
The life of John Edgar McAllister, 1870-1959, is a model of how to handle success: Pass it on.
A native of Canada, McAllister recognized that his education provided independence, so he helped many students to attend Michigan Tech and gain that edge in life.
He did so through the Michigan Tech Fund, which administers the McAllister Scholarship Program.
The program is a touchstone of McAllister's philosophy of life. He recognized, an admirer says, "that there are times when one needs help, and there are times when one can and should offer help."
He himself needed scholarships to get his education. His first job, in the Texas panhandle, saw him and his wife living in a tent for a year. Later in his career, the Depression hit him and his mining consultant business hard.
But once his business was established, he did something of great worth-he put the bulk of his estate into a perpetual trust to support students at the University of Toronto and at Michigan Tech, his two alma maters. He had studied civil engineering and applied science at the University of Toronto and, in 1896, minerals science at Michigan Tech.
McAllister was described as "quiet and unassuming." But he made a bold and lasting impression by helping Canadian students studying engineering or science, having financial need, and, most importantly, "plodding" along-that is, hard-working, hard-pressed students who otherwise wouldn't qualify for scholarships.
In helping more than three hundred Canadians attend Michigan Tech since1958, McAllister asked of these scholarship recipients only one thing-that, when their circumstances permitted, they in turn help others.
Beyond Canada, Michigan Tech has alumni in more than ninety countries. The University is working to ensure that this global family stays connected.
The McAllister Scholarship Program is a perfect example of the power of deferred giving-namely, that it secures not only support for the University but also a personal legacy that endures beyond one's own life.
Eric Halonen is the assistant vice president for major and planned gifts at the Michigan Tech Fund. He says that alumni and friends have established endowed funds to support future scholarships, fellowships, department chairs, and other programs. "A bequest or a life income gift benefits the donor as well as Michigan Tech," he says.
For more information, call the Office of Planned Giving at 906-487-3325 or send an email to Halonen at <ehalonen@mtu.edu>.