Sigma Chi - University of Michigan

University of Michigan page 3 Ed Hickey '56 In memory of Will Perry '56 John Peckham '56 Frederick R. Trost '57 In memory of Robert J. Trost '58 Dale F. Hanson '58 In honor of Gerald J. Prescott Jr. '56 Terry P. McIlhargey '59 James K. Bain Jr. '61 Karl V. Fink '61 James P. Fry '61 Bart C. Hazleton '61 William H. Reed '61 Dr. William Swenfurth '61 Alan H. Pierrot, M.D. '62 David J. Collon '63 John H. Dumont '63 William G. Earle '63 In honor of Don Williams and Helen Flurey Fritz Damm '64 Jack P. Huizingh '64 Thomas E. Mott '64 In memory of my roommates, Jon Lundin '64 and Tom Keating '64 Dennis R. Twining '64 Dallas C. Dort '65 Jerry H. Mader '65 Bruce M. Allison '66 In honor of Tom Matevia '65 In memory of Charlie Kines '66 Jon G. March '66 Robert M. Gerometta '68 In memory of Don Canham Douglas J. Leupen '68 Stephen M. Denefeld '75 In memory of Chuck Ihling '75 Terry LaJeunesse '75 In memory of Chuck Ihling '75 James W. Hoose Jr. '77 Ronald L. Wiens '77 Doug H. Wright '77 Thomas E. Miller '79 Rick Simon '79 C. Christopher Tope, DDS '79 Donald R. Bacon '80 David Van Dusen '80 Marc E. Robinson '82 Steven J. VanTassel '82 In memory of Tom Cravens '83 Mark H. Westerberg '82 David M. Barnett '83 Curtis A. Kracht, DDS '83 Patrick Curran '84 Peter G. Twinney '84 Kreg W. Keesee '86 John W. Christopher '87 Trey Hill '87 Dave Pramuk '87 David Prybil '87 David Riberi '88 David Feikens '89 James C. Holden '95 Mehul N. Madia '99 Mark J. Beauchamp '09 In honor of Julian C. Renfro '48 Bill Swaney '60 Gives Back to Preserve the Future of Theta Theta B ill Swaney '60 faced a tough decision as a freshman at the University of Michigan. His brother and his roommate's brother had both joined Phi Delta Theta; however, most of their new friends were joining Sigma Chi. In the end, Bill chose Theta Theta and has never looked back. The friends he made then are still friends today—60 years later. "Every day was special living with my best friends," Swaney said. "We were competitive in most intramural sports; playing on winning teams with your brothers was fun, especially for those of us not going out for a varsity sport. It offered a great alternative as most of us were good athletes in high school. The music in the '50s was awesome and our TGIF parties with a different sorority each week with live bands were a ton of fun!" Swaney graduated with a bachelor of arts degree and was a commissioned officer in the United States Navy through the NROTC program. His first job out of college was to fulfill his obligation with the U.S. Navy. "I opted to be a supply officer and after six months of training in Athens, Georgia, I was assigned to a destroyer stationed on the West Coast for two years." Swaney is now retired from his role as executive of the Perrigo Company, where he worked for 38 years. He started as a trainee working for the plant manager with responsibility for purchasing, scheduling, distribution, manufacturing, and packaging. He held multiple positions in the company over the years and became COO in l973. In l980, the management group did a leveraged buyout and Bill became CEO and chairman, a position he held until 1991 when the company went public. He continued to work for Perrigo in strategic planning until he officially retired seven years later. He is currently president and chairman of St. Joseph's Episcopal School in Boynton Beach, Florida, a private non-profit Christian school that serves 260 students with an early childcare facility for 1- and 2-year-old children and pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. His time as consul in Theta Theta taught Bill a great deal about leadership, which translated to his career. "To lead your best friends and retain their respect was an amazing experience. I was honored that they had elected me." With regard to his contribution to the capital campaign, Bill hopes to offer future generations the same opportunities he had as an undergraduate. "The university has gotten much larger since I graduated," said Swaney. "It was a large university in the '50s when I was there and fortunately Theta Theta made it seem smaller and more intimate, living with your best friends in a house with a great location to the main campus. The ideals of the fraternity fit well with my Christian background and upbringing and offer the same values today that were offered 60 years ago. I have a plaque in my office that has a quote from Winston Churchill: 'We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.' Four years at the university as a Sigma Chi had a huge impact on my life, and I want to preserve that legacy by giving back so more Sigma Chi brothers can enjoy the same experience." "Our house is in need of a major renovation to ensure a successful future. If we are successful in our campaign and are able to retire the debt, we have plans to designate a capital account that will fund depreciation so we will be able to cover any improvements or maintenance going forward. We as alumni have a responsibility to help make that happen. To the extent possible at this time in your life, please consider a donation. You won't regret it when your children or grandchildren have the chance to attend the university and might consider Sigma Chi as a place to spend four years in Ann Arbor." Bill and his wife of 35 years, Nancy, live in Village of Golf, Florida. Bill has four children, two stepchildren and 17 grandchildren. When time permits, he enjoys golfing, hiking and trout fishing. He also leads a Wednesday night small group bible study in his home. You can contact him at wcs@swaneyfamily.net.

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