Robert Walter and his wife Margaret singlehandedly made a multipurpose center at Ohio University a reality.
Their multipurpose center donation — $8 million of a $10 million gift to OU in December, 2010 — funds almost 65 percent of the estimated $12.5 million facility. The rest was financed through student debt services, fees and an Ohio Athletics fundraising campaign.
The planned multipurpose center, which will likely bear the Walters’ name in some capacity, is the latest in their line of gifts that date back to 1988 and total more than $17 million.
“I generally believe and feel the responsibility to give back,” Walter said.
The Walters’ donation students might be most familiar with is their $5 million lead gift for the Margaret M. Walter Hall, which will be visible from the front door of the planned multipurpose center, according to renderings.
Walter drew a parallel between his and his wife’s most noteworthy infrastructural contribution to date and the one that will be erected beginning this summer.
“The Walter Hall is really a multipurpose facility,” he said. “It’s an academic and governance building and an entertainment facility. All of that stuff is important to support in having a vibrant university.”
After graduating alongside his wife in 1967 with a mechanical engineering degree and plenty of student political experience, Walter entered the workforce, working on missile technology before returning to academia at Harvard Business School.
He purchased a small Ohio foods distributor, Cardinal Foods, in 1971, before moving its focus to pharmaceutical distribution as Cardinal Health less than a decade later.
Now, Cardinal Health is a Fortune-100 company based in Dublin, Ohio, that recorded more than $102 billion in revenue in 2012, according to the list.
All the while, Walter has been intertwined in the university more than many realize.
He personally knows OU’s last four presidents, calls Vernon Alden his “first mentor” and spent nine years serving on OU’s Board of Trustees, ending in 2006 — three years before retiring from Cardinal Health.
He headed the selection process for current President Roderick McDavis and served as the Board of Trustees’ Chair during the university’s bicentennial.
McDavis, who said he has a continued relationship with Walter since his selection as OU president, added that aside from Walter helping fund various campus initiatives, his willingness to serve on the Board of Trustees sets him aside as a special donor.
“We often talk about the importance of alumni sharing their time, talent and treasure with Ohio University,” McDavis said. “Bob is the epitome of that level of philanthropy. He is a very savvy, experienced and knowledgeable business leader. Having Bob share his expertise as a trustee greatly benefitted Ohio University.”
OU saw the first $1 million installment of the Walters’ $10 million gift in 2011 and will receive the same sum each year until 2021. The donation will be seen from the Walter Family Foundation through the Columbus Foundation for its first five years and will come directly from the Walters for the remaining five.
Jennifer Bowie, OU director of development, said OU officials didn’t initially envision students would have a hand in financing the multipurpose center, though that is now the case.
Walter, who played baseball and football in high school, said he isn’t an avid athletics follower but supports Ohio’s teams and sees their need for donor backing.
“Sports are not more important to the university than academic life, but the social atmosphere and climate needs to be supported,” he said. “I think it’s hard to raise the money for the facility.”
Walter described his first encounter with OU as intimidating. He grew up in a modest family and said he couldn’t have afforded to attend OU if it weren’t for loans, scholarships and on-campus jobs he held as an undergraduate.
“When I first went to Ohio, I was just as afraid as the other students,” Walter said. “I remember driving down there and wondering if I can compete.”
Now, more than 10 members of his extended family have attended OU, he said. And every time they return to visit their alma mater, they will see another reminder of the mark Walter and his wife have left on the university.
“Bob and Peggy’s philanthropic leadership for the multipurpose center is the reason we will be able to have this place that will serve all of our students and university community,” McDavis said. “It is another example that illustrates Bob’s wonderful vision and passion for Ohio University.”
jr992810@ohiou.edu
