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Daniel Fultz ’57, a fellow board member, remembers
hearing the news of Shangraw’s appointment for
the first time. “Bob worked at Merrill Lynch, and I
was thinking, ‘What the heck does a stockbroker
know about being chairman of the board?’ But
I have seen a lot of board chairs come and go,
and I have to say that Bob is right up there with
Robert Rich-who helped turn Lycoming into
a four-year school-as chairs that have had the
biggest influence on the College.”
One place where Shangraw had the
most resounding impact was in growing
Lycoming’s endowment. “Under Bob’s
leadership, we determined that we
wanted to reach a $100 million
endowment,” Fultz recalled. “It was
a hell of a long way, but with the
new president at that time, James
Douthat, they pulled it off.”
“Bob and I took office on the
same day in 1989,” said Douthat.
“We had roughly a $15 million
endowment at the time. When
Bob and I took office on the same day in 1989.
We had roughly a $15 million endowment
at the time. When Bob retired from the board,
we had over $100 million.
Left to right: Bob Shangraw looks over the construction of the
Shangraw Athletic Complex during the spring of 1998, Shangraw
and President Emeritus James Douthat.
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