Linda and Bill McGuire’s Legacy Gift Will Support the Future of Dominican

Linda Cowel McGuire and her husband of 44 years, Bill, both grew up in Chicago. She graduated from Rosary College (now Dominican) in 1969 with a BA in French and enjoyed a 12-year career in international business before retiring in 1981 to raise their two sons.

“I was one of five children from a family of modest means,” she says. “After attending Trinity High School (a Catholic, all-girls school)—against my wishes but at my mother’s insistence—Rosary became a viable option for me. When I learned about the study abroad program in Fribourg, (having long dreamt of spending time in France and speaking its native language) together with the scholarships and proximity to home, it made my decision easy.”

In gratitude for her transformational education, Linda and Bill made a legacy gift in 2009 to Dominican with a bequest in their will. More recently they added to their bequest. “There is a bittersweet element to our more recent bequest designation,” she says. “Bill attended St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana; and, sadly, it closed its doors in 2017. We had made a provision for St. Joe’s in our will; but when it closed, we decided to redirect that bequest to Dominican. It is testament to Dominican and its leadership that Bill, who could have designated many other charities, chose Dominican. Of course, I am thrilled!”

Linda says she always felt close to the Sisters who were her professors and had a great deal of respect and admiration for them. “In addition to their academic expertise, they always made students feel like we were family,” Linda says. “There were three Sisters in particular who had an indelible impact on me: Sister George Lennon and Sister Jean Murray, both French professors, and theater professor Sister Gregory Duffy. They made their subject matter come alive. It was Sr. George who encouraged me to apply for the junior year abroad program in Fribourg, despite my own misgivings about being qualified. She said, ‘Linda, YOU can DO this.’ It was such a vote of confidence in my abilities. It was truly inspiring. And, of course, the international experience was transformational.

“After living in Boston, Massachusetts, and Fairfield, Connecticut, for six years, we moved back to Chicago in 1986. As we became more engaged and attended more events,” Linda says, “little by little, I began to feel that sense of closeness return.”

Linda shares one of her favorite memories of her continuing affiliation with Dominican: “While registering for the annual memorial mass on campus about eight years ago, I unexpectedly ran into a former classmate and dear friend, Ruth Kessler, whom I hadn’t seen since Rosary. Since then we’ve reconnected, and now we have shared so many awesome times and stories. In addition, in October 2017 Cami Jarasek McNamee was responsible for planning and organizing a Fribourg reunion in Alexandria, Virginia, of all the schools who were connected with Rosary’s program during our junior year of 1967-1968. What a wonderful turnout and time of reminiscing and remembering a life-changing year for all of us.”

As Linda and Bill continue to attend more events on campus, they have seen the remarkable work of President Donna Carroll—how she was expanding academic programs, renovating buildings on campus, and growing the enrollment. Ultimately, Linda says, it was an easy decision to give back to Dominican.

“We truly hope that our gift will help Dominican University remain strong and viable in an increasingly volatile higher-education environment,” Linda concludes. “Whether it will be used for general operating purposes or to establish a scholarship in our names (we are considering both), we hope it will provide a measure of financial security for the university.” The McGuire’s encourage others to consider leaving their own legacies at Dominican to support future Stars in their academic endeavors.