Anna Tyler Waite and Donald L. Waite, BSC’54
The Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Scholars Program and The Anna and Donald Waite Chair in Jesuit Education
Leadership Scholars
“Anna and I are big believers in education,” Donald Waite said by phone from his West Coast office on a recent day in February. “This is what we want, not just for our kids but for everyone...
“When it comes to dollars that could be put to use for others, the Leadership Program was just a wonderful idea. And we owe that idea to Creighton and people like Bob (Robert H.) Moorman (Ph.D.) in the College of Business.
“Dr. Moorman just took this idea and carried it to fruition.”
When the Waites approached Creighton several years ago to fund a program in Creighton’s College of Business, the idea of building leadership skills throughout a student’s college career was a perfect match for them. What’s more, the Waites wanted those skills to reflect a Jesuit education, with its underpinnings of ethics and service to others. And they wanted to help meet students’ expenses during each undergraduate year.
Today, that dream the Waites sowed with their generous funding is being realized … in the lives of the hundreds of students who have gone through the leadership program. This year alone, 20 scholarships are funding students as they develop the values and skills needed to lead effectively in a socially responsible way.
The Waites also see very clearly the character that the leadership program can build, as students develop confidence in their decisions. It’s a trait that Don believes Creighton naturally builds in its students.
But the Waites have not stopped giving to Creighton – and society – with the Leadership Scholars Program.
Chair in Jesuit Education
“Anna and I wanted to do more,” said Don this winter. “So, we approached Fr. Schlegel, asking ‘How can we continue to help?’”
The Creighton president’s answer was quick and forthright: a chair in Jesuit education. And that’s what the Waites have funded.
The Anna and Donald Waite Chair in Jesuit Education will bring qualified Jesuit scholars and teachers to Creighton beginning this fall 2009.
To be inaugurated when Fr. Frank Brennan, S.J., an Australian Jesuit lawyer and aboriginal rights specialist, comes to the Creighton School of Law, the Waite Chair will be filled through the years with outstanding Jesuits from around the world.
The idea is to support Creighton’s vibrant Jesuit heritage with Jesuit scholars holding outstanding academic credentials. First to hold the chair, Fr. Brennan is adjunct fellow in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University, professor of law in the Institute of Legal Studies at the Australian Catholic University, and professor of human rights and social justice at the University of Notre Dame, Australia.
Thanks to the Waites, the Creighton University community will be infused with the best the world has to offer in Jesuit scholarship, spirituality and mission.