Meet the Giant Steps Campaign Executive Cabinet

Jay ’79 and Susan Allen Green Village, NJ

Jay serves as the chair of the Wabash College Board of Trustees. He had an illustrious banking career and retired as managing director of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Jay steered Wabash through a presidential transition amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Susan is an avid champion for libraries and literacy in their community.

“My introduction to Wabash was through Jay and his father,” says Susan. “Both of them are the kinds of citizens the world needs. A graduate from Wabash leaves here intelligent, with a conscience and knowledge about how to create good, how to solve problems on a big scale. Those are the kinds of things the world needs.”

During the Giant Steps Campaign, Jay and Susan, passionate about how campus spaces help drive Wabash’s liberal arts mission, supported enhancements to the Allen Athletics and Recreation Center, the construction of the Ott Residential Life District, and the new campus center.

Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen Glencoe, IL

Steve and Joanie Bowen served as national co-chairs of the Giant Steps Campaign. After concluding his time as chair of the Wabash College Board of Trustees and retiring as senior partner at Latham and Watkins in Chicago, Steve spent several fall semesters on campus as a visiting member of the Wabash faculty, teaching courses in philosophy and ethics, as well as a freshman tutorial, God, Human Limits, and the Things That Matter. Joanie is a retired nurse, an avid cyclist, and a master gardener. Other alumni family members include Steve’s son, David ’99, and Joanie’s son, Paul ’07.

“Wabash students know there is no substitute for hard work,” says Steve. “They work hard, under the steady guidance of our excellent faculty, to achieve the Wabash mission of thinking critically, acting responsibly, leading effectively, and living humanely.”

In addition to Steve and Joanie’s own generous philanthropic support, in 2017 then-President Gregory Hess announced the establishment of The Stephen S. Bowen Professorship in the Liberal Arts. This new professorship is made possible thanks to a grant in honor of Steve and as part of the Giant Steps Campaign from the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation and Steve’s longtime law partner, Michael Pucker.

Walt ’68 and Kathy Snodell

Glen Ellyn, IL

Lifelong Chicagoans, Walt is the chair and CEO of Peerless Industries Inc. and Kathy is active as a member of the Village Vocal Chords, the oldest women’s barbershop chorus in the United States.

Walt and Kathy created and funded the Greater Chicagoland Initiative and Snodell Scholars aimed at increasing the number of students from the Chicago area who enroll and graduate from Wabash. Their pioneering Giant Steps philanthropy provided a model for the College to follow when deciding to strategically place additional remote admissions officers in Texas and the southwest region of the United States. Read more about the Snodell Scholars initiative on page 42.

Frank ’82 and Lisa Kolisek

Greenwood, IN

Frank is an orthopedic surgeon with central Indiana–based Orthoindy. His Wabash volunteer service extends to leadership on the College’s Global Health Initiative Advisory Committee. Lisa is a founding member of the Wabash Women’s Collective and serves on its Leadership Council. Frank and Lisa are proud Wabash parents of Jake ’11, Charlie ’14, and Kelsey.

During the Giant Steps Campaign, in addition to contributing to the Dr. John F. Zimmerman ’67 Fund, Frank and Lisa established The Kolisek Family Health Innovation Fund to enhance and expand the College’s record of student success in medicine and health-related professions.

John ’69 and Diane H’99 Schroeder

Evansville, IN

John is the president of Wabash Plastics in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana, where he champions a wide span of civic and nonprofit organizations aimed at sustaining the economic vitality of southwestern Indiana. Committed to adding cultural vibrancy to their community, Diane founded the Evansville Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and served the Evansville Philharmonic as its board chair. John and Diane’s son, Scott, is a 1999 Wabash graduate.

Inveterate travelers and passionate about learning in all forms, John and Diane created The Schroeder Family Endowed Immersion Learning Fund during Giant Steps. Thanks to their generosity, every Wabash student is now afforded the opportunity for at least one immersive learning travel experience during his four years at the College. Read more about John and Diane’s giant impact on page 50.

Paul ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls

Napa, CA

Paul and Betty served as national co-chairs of the Giant Steps Campaign, and Paul also serves as chair of the Advancement Committee of the Wabash Board of Trustees. Proprietors of Progeny and O’Shaughnessy wineries, two premier global wine brands, Paul and Betty have leveraged their gorgeous Napa Valley locations and gracious living and hospitality to engage Wabash benefactors, alumni, and friends of the College during this historic campaign.

“We had a lot of fun and enjoyed a great deal of success during Giant Steps,” says Betty. “As a relative newcomer to the Wabash scene before the start of the campaign, it was a thrill to get to meet so many amazing Wabash alumni, spouses, and partners as we traveled across the country speaking about why we felt it was so important to invest in Wabash College. That said, what I have enjoyed most is coming to know the Wabash students. Truly, our students give me hope for the future.”

At the Giant Steps kickoff event in November 2018, this generous couple propelled Wabash and the Campaign forward with confidence and undeniable momentum by announcing a $40 million unrestricted gift—the largest gift commitment in the College’s 191-year history.

“At a time when higher education is taking a beating and there are discussions about whether people should go to college, there are several colleges that are struggling and struggling mightily,” says Paul. “We didn’t want Wabash to be in a place where there was any question about whether it could survive and thrive into the future.

“Wabash did a lot for me,” he continues. “I’ve stayed connected because my wife and I believe that if you have been able to succeed in work and life, then you need to provide an opportunity for other people to achieve their potential as well. Staying engaged with the College to make sure that other students could come along and be able to reap the benefits that I reaped has been extremely important.”

Tom ’73 and Anne Walsh

St. Louis, MO

Tom is a retired partner at Dentons and Anne is the chief investment officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management. As Wabash leaders, this generous couple shares their legal and financial acumen with the College and seeks to deepen alumni and affinity ties throughout the greater St. Louis, Missouri, and Scottsdale, Arizona, regions by hosting numerous gatherings at their homes. Anne has enthusiastically provided internship and employment opportunities for Wabash students and recent graduates.

Wabash celebrated the launch of the Walsh Center for Political Economy in January 2023, and recognized Anne and Tom for their visionary support of the new philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE) major, currently one of the largest and most popular majors for Wabash students. Read more about PPE on page 62.

I am honored to be able to express my gratitude for the generous contributions made to the Giant Steps Campaign. As the current president of ’shOUT, vice president of the Student Senate, and external vice president of Lambda Chi, I have done a lot in the first half of my time here, and I love this place in so many ways.

There is one common denominator: the people. The people that inhabit and support this great College are the essence of what makes it special.

It’s the conversations, the lessons learned, and the relationships built here. That’s what makes this place so easy to call home.

Luis Rivera ’25