John Colman, Chem E ’48, got involved with the college as an investment strategy. He and his wife Jane wanted to prepare a financial plan to pass assets to their three children and four grandchildren, and John wanted to invest in Cornell.
Impressed with Cornell’s engineering program and privileged to receive a McMullen Scholarship, Colman came to Cornell in the midst of World War II. At the end of his freshman year, he enlisted in the Navy and served a year and a half as an electronic technician. After completing his degree, he earned an MBA at Harvard. His career, mostly in finance and corporate management, has included positions at Borden Chemical, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Treasury Department, among others.
The John C. ’48 and Jane B. Colman Graduate Fellowship in the College of Engineering is the result of a unique planned gift benefiting Cornell and Colorado College, Jane’s alma mater. The planned gift allows them to contribute to the future for their family and for their colleges.
"Surely as a graduate of the engineering program, loyalty had something to do with my decision, but loyalty isn’t necessarily a good investment strategy. What captured my attention was the strategic plan for the college developed by Dean Kent Fuchs. The leadership evidenced in that document was enough to convince me that our money would do the most good for the most people in his capable hands. There is an institutional need for well-trained leaders.
"The planned giving folks at Cornell told us that as long as Cornell held a majority of the gift, they would be able to structure a plan that suited all of our wants and needs. The Cornell staff’s work on this document was impeccable. Everyone who vetted the agreement said Cornell had hit a home run."
