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A lifelong commitment
Warren Reynolds ’53, MA ’67 has always been interested in business.
“I had two paper routes, one in the morning and one in the evening,” he said. “And I also sold Victory Garden seeds during the War.”
“And you raised rabbits,” his wife, Carol, added with a smile.
“Yes, I started raising rabbits when I was eleven,” Reynolds said. “Rabbits were a good commodity. They multiplied quickly.”
After high school graduation in 1949, Reynolds knew he wanted to study business at Bradley University. He had applied and been accepted, but didn’t know how he could pay the tuition. Reynolds was working in downtown Peoria when his mother called and asked him to come home on his lunch hour. When he arrived, he was greeted by a Bradley professor who offered him a scholarship to attend the university.
“That was the beginning of my relationship with Bradley,” Reynolds says.
The relationship has become a lifelong commitment.
After graduation, Reynolds worked at Keystone Steel and Wire, where he advanced through various positions and eventually became vice president and corporate secretary. In 1961, he married Carol Ackerman, a Peoria native who graduated from Beloit College. The two continued to reside in the Peoria area and, as a result, Reynolds has maintained a strong relationship with his alma mater. He earned a master’s degree in communications in 1967. He also served as president of the National Alumni Association and as a member of the committee that named Dr. Martin Abegg as Bradley’s seventh president. Reynolds has been a member of the Bradley University Council since 1987 and is a member of the Centurion Society, an honor that Bradley gives to its most distinguished alumni.
Mr. Reynolds has not only volunteered considerable amounts of time, but he and Carol have supported Bradley in many other ways. They have endowed two scholarships and a travel fund for forensics, which Reynolds participated in while attending Bradley. Just as a scholarship gave Reynolds the opportunity to attend Bradley, their scholarships continue to create opportunities for others.
“Bradley University has been a good steward of the gifts it has received from alumni and others,” Reynolds said. “It is very satisfying to watch the funds grow with Bradley’s careful investments.”
“But the best reward,” he says, “is when we receive a handwritten letter from a student who has received scholarship assistance from our gifts.”
The couple also enjoys knowing that their gifts will go on creating opportunities for students beyond their lifetime. “We are, in fact, sending money into the future,” Reynolds said. “That’s very satisfying.”