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Bob retired from the board, we had over $100 million. To put this in context, if Bob as
chairman of the board had been able to double our endowment in ten years it would have
been extraordinary, but the increase was six-fold.”
The impact of a stronger endowment cannot be overstated, explained Trachte. “Growing
the endowment like that in terms of the percentages is almost unprecedented, and as we
enter an era of intense competition over price, we are now at a competitive advantage over
our peers. Lycoming can offer the kind of financial aid we need to attract the strongest
students, and given our excellent debt ratio, we can borrow if necessary to take advantage of
growth opportunities. More than the athletic center, more than the buildings, the endowed
professorships, more than all that, creating the strong foundation for Lycoming was at the
center of Bob Shangraw’s leadership.”
“The future of the college and the country is going to be its demographic diversity, and
that can be an enormous strength for the country and the college, but you have to be able
to help get students through financially. Bob was a visionary and understood that early on,”
Douthat attested. “He connected the dots and saw that long-term health and growth of the
college was fundamentally connected to the growth of the endowment.”
In addition to his work on the board, Shangraw was chair to three fundraising campaigns,
bringing in $36 million for the college. Perhaps because Shangraw was such a legendary
fundraiser, “He was the kind of guy you hated to see coming, because you knew what was
coming,” joked long-time friend Hugh “Pete” Sides ’60, who was on the board with Shangraw.
“You’d walk away poorer, but richer for the experience, and you really felt pretty good.”
Fultz recalls with mirth the period when he was acting treasurer at Lycoming, commuting
from Rochester, N.Y., each week to work. Shangraw had tapped him for a donation to renovate
the Hiawatha riverboat, a popular tourist draw for Williamsport. “Three months later he calls
about a children’s home. I said, OK, how much? It became a way of life. I thought, ‘Shangraw is
after me when I don’t even live here! What will he do if I move back?’ ”
But of course, Shangraw’s generosity began at home. “Bob was a born leader, and he never
asked anyone to do something that he wouldn’t - or hadn’t already - done himself,” emphasized
Failor. Bob’s wife, Charlene Shangraw, concurred. “He gave away as much as he kept for
himself and his family, and wouldn’t have had it any other way.” Beyond the College, the list of
organizations, churches, institutions and charitable foundations he supported included nearly
every nonprofit in the Williamsport area, and many outside it.
He was bigger
than life.
He had a real
presence.
When Bob
walked into a
room you knew
he was there.
He connected
the dots
and saw
that long-term
health and
growth of the
college was
fundamentally
connected
to the growth
of the
endowment.
Bob always
felt he got
more back
than he gave.
Shangraw with his wife, Charlene
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LYCOMING COLLEGE 2016 SUMMER MAGAZINE
F E AT U R E