$6 million donated to Kelley for scholarships

John C. Shoemaker, retired executive vice president for computer systems at Sun Microsystems, and his wife, Donna, donated $6 million to the Kelley School of Business. \nThe Shoemaker's gift will create new scholarships for undergraduate students in the Kelley School of Business, which will be able to support about 40 students each year.\nDaniel Smith, interim dean of the Kelley School of Business, noted the impact of the donation. \n"The Shoemaker gift is among the most substantial scholarship endowments," he said. "It is our third largest." \nThe IU Matching the Promise campaign matches the donations given to the school. \n"In effect, John and Donna Shoemaker's gift has the scholarship power of a gift worth $12 million," Smith said.\nShoemaker earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the Kelley school in 1966 and credits his success as a businessman to his education at the school. \nHe and his wife are strong supporters of well-rounded people being given an opportunity for a good education and the ethical grounding that is critical to becoming leaders, Smith said. \n"(John and Donna) feel a deep commitment to the School and felt a sincere desire to 'give back' in acknowledgment of the opportunities created as a result of receiving an education at the business school and IU," Smith said.\nThe John and Donna Shoemaker Scholarships will be merit-based and available only to undergraduates already accepted to the business school. \n"The strength of the Kelley School is derived in part from the quality of our students," Smith said. "The Shoemaker gift will help ensure that our tradition of excellence continues for years to come."\nBefore his position with Sun Microsystems, Shoemaker had a remarkable career path. He began as a financial analyst at Xerox in 1969 and through his 21 years there, was named corporate vice president in 1986, then vice president and general manager of document systems businesses and then senior vice president and general manager of printing systems businesses. \nAfter retiring from Sun Microsystems in 2002, Shoemaker still worked to develop Sun's Leadership Institute for the training of high potential vice presidents to assume future top management roles.\nShoemaker has served on the Kelley School Dean's Advisory Council since 1995 and in 2001 was named an alumni fellow.\n"Mr. Shoemaker is not only successful in terms of what he has accomplished, he is highly regarded because of how he became successful," Smith said. "He is known for being a person of high integrity and sound ethical judgment. Having the Shoemaker name affiliated with the Kelley school is a great honor; a halo from which we will benefit."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Kathryn Macdonald at kemacdon@indiana.edu.