Connecting the Generations

Editor’s note: Fates align for University of New Mexico Phi Kappa Phi members John A. Yeakel and Molly Maguire-Marshall. The former, a retired professor of management, established the Deborah and John Yeakel Fellowship with his aforementioned wife earlier this year to support graduate education for nominees ideally from the state of New Mexico. The latter, winner of one of the school’s outstanding senior awards in 2009, is the inaugural recipient of the Yeakel largesse. They overlap in other ways, too, evidenced in answers to analogous questions sent to them by Editor Peter Szatmary. What follows is continued from the magazine.

Perspective

Q: John, over your long career, what is your crowning achievement?

A: Attaining professorship status at a major, well-regarded university and having had the opportunity to interact with and influence thousands of students. Now, being able to assist students financially through the Phi Kappa Phi Foundation is icing on the cake. 

Q: Molly, as your career unfolds, what do you hope your crowning achievement will be?

A: I would like to be involved in long-term community development projects led by community members. Sustainability is a key concept in development projects, the hope that the effort will continue after leadership has changed or after the first couple cycles of participants have completed the program.

Phi Kappa Phi

Q: John, in the late 1980s, you served two successive terms as University of New Mexico chapter president. More than 20 years later, you, along with your wife, decided to endow a fellowship. What were your motivations then and now?

A: Before serving as the chapter president, my motivation for involvement in the Society was to encourage School of Management students to join when given the invitation. I had learned that, without direct and personal faculty promotion, many accomplished students failed to become members. As chapter president, the Society’s financial awards programs became much clearer to me. Now that we have the ability to endow a fellowship, my wife, Deborah, and I are delighted to do so. We understand that the notion of the self-made individual is mythology. None of us does it alone. Both of us benefited from financial assistance over the years from individuals, scholarship funds, and grants. Without such help, we couldn’t have gotten started in our professions. Deborah earned her undergraduate degree in education at University of Akron and attended its law school as a part-time night student. Her teaching career in Ohio, Florida, and New Mexico spanned 37 years, at both the elementary and secondary levels. She was a greatly admired and very creative teacher. No matter what their grade level, it was common for her students to pleasantly discover that they were being taught art, or perhaps chess, along with the usual required subject.

Q: Molly, you were initiated into Phi Kappa Phi relatively recently, in 2008, compared with many decades ago for John. What made you decide to accept the invitation? What do you like best about the Society?

A: One of my favorite professors and mentors, Dr. Diane Rawls, is chapter treasurer. When I was a freshman, she told me about Phi Kappa Phi and some of the benefits and opportunities for members. Two years later, I was really excited to receive my invitation and become a member of the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline honor society. I think it is incredible how many scholarships and fellowship opportunities there are for Phi Kappa Phi members. I also enjoy reading Phi Kappa Phi Forum, which my dad mailed to me every couple of months when I was in Ecuador. It was nice to read stories about Phi Kappa Phi members and their experiences at their universities and abroad.