A smile beamed from the face of Roy Shanker ’70 as he and his wife, Linda, sat down at a desk in their California home earlier this month. With garnet pens in hand, they signed the paperwork in front of them, finalizing a $12 million pledge to Swarthmore College, bringing their total commitment to $42 million. 

“Supporting Swarthmore in this way is exciting,” Shanker says. “It’s a really satisfying, rewarding feeling to know that you’re creating a legacy that will benefit Swarthmore faculty and students far into the future.” 

Their commitment adds to a $30 million bequest the couple made during the Changing Lives, Changing the World campaign. The $42 million total is the third largest in Swarthmore’s history, behind only Eugene Lang ’38, H’81 and Jerome Kohlberg ’46, H’86.

When the Shankers’ estate gifts are realized, they will help fund a variety of College priorities, including support for financial aid and the creation of new faculty positions. In recognition of the Shankers’ extraordinary generosity, moving forward, the position held by the College’s president will be named the Roy J. and Linda G. Shanker Presidential Chair, with President Valerie Smith holding the inaugural position.

“It’s an incredible honor,” Shanker says. “This is especially meaningful for Linda and me because of how highly we think of Val. She’s led Swarthmore through extraordinary challenges and seized on wonderful opportunities. Swarthmore is a better, stronger institution today thanks to her leadership.”

“Getting to know Roy and Linda has been one of the great joys of my time here at Swarthmore,” Smith says. “I’m both grateful and humbled by their support. It is an extraordinary demonstration of their belief in Swarthmore today, and in the future, and in our collective ability to change both the lives of our students and the world around us.”

Early Influence

He didn’t know it at the time, but Shanker started forming that legacy nearly 60 years ago, during his first year on campus in 1966. 

“I had the great fortune of meeting Thomas McCabe (Class of 1915, H’47), and we developed a relationship throughout my time as a student,” Shanker recalls. McCabe, the longtime CEO of the Scott Paper Company and eighth chairman of the Federal Reserve, had already established the McCabe Scholars program by the time the two met. McCabe Library opened during Shanker’s sophomore year.

“Tom was a nice and giving man,” Shanker says. “He often spoke and cared deeply about making sure Swarthmore had the resources it needed not just to endure, but to thrive.”

After graduating with a B.A. in physics, Shanker went on to earn an M.S. and a Ph.D. in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University. He spent his career as a consultant in the energy industry, working on a wide range of projects — from initial market designs and regulatory proceedings to contract negotiations and the development of new energy facilities. He credits Swarthmore with preparing him for his life of personal and professional success.

“I cannot overstate the impact Swarthmore has had on my life,” he says. “There was this cacophony of ideas everywhere. You couldn't sit down and eat lunch, or even be in the football locker room, without people throwing out ideas and thinking about things. That helped me discover not just what I could learn, but how I could learn. It’s where I developed the ability to absorb the perspectives of others and shape them into something new and valuable.”

Drawing Inspiration

Profoundly influenced by his Swarthmore experience, Shanker began thinking of ways to give back to the College. Sometime around 2005, he and Linda were considering establishing a scholarship at Swarthmore when he asked Lang to lunch. What was supposed to be a one-hour meeting turned into four. The conversation, and Lang’s support of the College, deepened Shanker’s appreciation for what it means to build a legacy.

“Gene was incredibly generous,” Shanker says. “During our time together, he spoke of his vision for the College as a force for change in the world. And through the incredible support of Gene and the Lang family, Swarthmore continues to live up to that vision.”

“Tom and Gene are two individuals with different, yet profound and everlasting legacies at the College,” adds Shanker “Their examples inspired me to consider what my own contribution might look like — how I could carry forward what they began, while adding something of my own. That ultimately led us to today.”

Shanker can’t help but smile when talking about Swarthmore’s future, and its ambitious mission of preparing learners to change the world in ways big and small. It’s a lofty ideal, and one Shanker has thought about more often as he decided to make this extraordinary commitment.

“When I think about it, to me, it’s expressed another way: Mind the light,” he says. “I’m not a religious person, but that is a very profound statement. And it ties in with the idea of the legacy I want to leave in ways that have inspired me, and will continue to inspire me.”

With their generosity and support, the Shankers have forged a legacy that will no doubt inspire the Swarthmore community for generations to come.