Luther Hill, Jr. (left) 1955: elected to the Board of Trustees 1972-79: served as Chairman of the Board 2005: elected as an Honorary Trustee Mark Hill (right) 2008: elected to the Board of Trustees
Generations of giving n a sunny law office in downtown Des Moines, a quiet, 87-year-old man credited for being one of the most pivotal board members in Simpson College’s history is talking about money. Specifically, Luther Hill, Jr. is discussing a $10 million gift — the largest in Simpson’s history — that he first helped cultivate and now helps govern.
some of Des Moines’ most influential and highly-respected business leaders to Simpson’s Board of Trustees. Names like Hubbell, Cowles, Weitz and Ballantine began showing up on the college’s list of donors and leaders “by virtue of Luther Hill,” said Simpson President John Byrd. “He forever changed the course of the college.”
“I think that’s the greatest contribution I’ve made to the college,” Hill said of the gift in 1992 from aluma and benefactor Amy Robertson. “Amy had a very specific agenda for that money, and it was part of my job to assure her we would be good financial stewards. It was a transformational gift for us.”
To Hill, it was “an easy sell.” His pitch: the need for a firstrate college institution in the Des Moines area that would graduate the brightest students in the state. His son, Mark Hill ’78, said that vision was contagious — and his father’s power of persuasion legendary.
Hill, too, has been a transformational force at Simpson. He married Sara Sigler Carpenter, whose grandparents both served on the Board of Trustees in Simpson’s early years (see story about the Sigler House on page 26). The family’s continued support of the college naturally propelled him to become a trustee in June of 1955. “I was very impressed with (then-president William) Kerstetter because he really wanted to improve the intellectual life of the college,” Hill said. “I wanted to be a part of that.” Through the years, Hill was instrumental in recruiting
“You aren’t going to attract people of that caliber without an ambitious goal in mind,” said Mark Hill, director of group compliance for Principal Financial Group, Inc. “He got people to join him because he believed in that goal, and they believed in him.” The elder Hill’s influence inspired Mark Hill to continue his family’s support of Simpson College; he joined the Board of Trustees in June of 2008. “I was asked, and I said yes,” Mark Hill said of the appointment. Smiling proudly, his father quickly added: “If he said no, he’d be in trouble.” ■ THE MAGAZINE | W I N T E R 2 0 0 9
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