The late Melvin Petersonโsย 44 years of philanthropy to the University of Evansville is capped with one final gift of long-lasting impact.
UE on Nov. 18 announced a bequest of more than $5.3 million, bringing Petersonโs total giving to UE to around $9.6 million since 1980.
The newly revealed bequest provides $1 million for an endowed faculty chair and $100,000 for a scholarship in the Department of English. It also will grow UEโs endowment and support its academic infrastructure, according to the university.
Peterson died on April 3, 2024, at 101 years old. The native of Omaha, Nebraska, retired in 1972 from Chevron Oil in San Francisco, California, at 50 years old. In 1989, he moved with close friend William Ridgway to Evansville โ Ridgwayโs hometown.
Together, Ridgway โ who died in 2013 โ and Peterson harnessed a largesse to support UE in numerous capacities. Their largest legacy might be the universityโs Harlaxton campus in Grantham, England. Ridgway in 1978 bought Harlaxton Manor at Petersonโs urging. The property had been leased to UE since 1970.
Ridgway later gifted the property to UE, which has since used it as its signature study-abroad experience.
โSome of our students have never even been outside their hometowns,โ University of Evansville President Christopher Pietruszkiewicz told Evansville Living at Petersonโs 101st birthday party June 3, 2023, at the universityโs May House. โThrough Harlaxton College, they get to see the world thanks to Melโs generosity.โ
Peterson’s first gift to UE was a $1,000 donation to Harlaxton in 1980, and he participated in many areas of university life over the years โ attending theater productions, art show openings, poetry and literary readings, and concerts.
He was president of the Samuel Johnson Society and was a board member of Harlaxton Society. He also supported the Art Department, the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Nursing Department.
In 1991, the UE Alumni Association recognized his service to the university by naming him a Samuel Orr Honorary Alumnus. Peterson also was an active honorary member of the Board of Trustees.
UE officials say the Melvin Peterson Art Gallery at Weinbach and Lincoln avenues and the Melvin Peterson Video Production Lab in Hyde Hall have further enhanced the university.
He also contributed to renovations of Hyde Hall and Bower-Suhrheinrich Library.
Peterson earned a master’s degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in history from Indiana State University in Terre Haute.
He also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from UE in 2014, and because of his contributions, his name remains synonymous with the university.
โThanks to Mel, the University of Evansville offers a rich and diverse academic experience,โ Pietruszkiewicz said Nov. 18 in a statement released by UE. โThose of us who knew him are better for our friendship. He will be missed, but his legacy will live on.โ
