The namesake of the University of Iowa’s Henry B. Tippie College of Business — and numerous other funds, societies, scholarships, boards, faculty chairs, professorships, fellowships, and facility rooms — died Sunday at the age of 95.
Tippie — who grew up on a farm in Belle Plaine, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, attended UI on the G.I. Bill, and made his way to Wall Street, where his business acumen propelled the wealth he’d use to launch endless philanthropic endeavors — passed at his home in Austin, Texas.
“Optimism, conditioned on reality, was ever present with Henry, and he really believed that ‘every day is a new day,’” Gary Fethke, dean emeritus of the UI business college, said of the man he worked closely with — the man he called, “an Iowa success story.”
“He was a plain man who achieved great things, thoroughly enjoyed his life, appreciated his friends, loved his wife, and made the world a better place,” Fethke said.
Tippie left a literal mark across the UI campus and state of Iowa.
But Tippie’s impact stretched far beyond those entities, facilities, positions, and awards that bear his name to the people earning them, employed by them, and working and learning in and through them.
As of the 2021 budget year, the Tippies had provided more than 900 scholarship awards for UI students.
"I felt that if I could ever get in a position where I could give some assistance to those in need of a University of Iowa education, then I would try to do something as repayment," Tippie once said.
That commitment stemmed from the start Tippie’s UI Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree in accounting gave him, launching him into his first job as a junior accountant in the Des Moines area.
He became a certified public accountant in 1951 — remaining a member of the Iowa Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs for more than 50 years — and joined John W. Rollins and Associates, a small Delaware-based communications firm, as its controller in 1953.
He helped Rollins acquire the pest-control company Orkin in 1964 through a deal that marked among the first leveraged buyouts in U.S. history of a major corporation by a smaller company, according to the UI Center for Advancement.
The deal — which eventually became a Harvard Business School case study — turned Rollins into a publicly-traded Fortune 1000 firm with more than 700 pest control operations in 55 countries and five companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Even after retiring, Tippie stayed active in the Rollins leadership — going to the office and attending meetings in Atlanta or Delaware.
And he always credited his success back to Iowa.
“When I was in college, I was a total unknown,” he said during a speech on the UI campus in 2014, but added, “When I got out of there, I had a foundation that would prepare me for things ahead.
“I am the recipient of somebody giving me a chance.”
With little to give back as a recent graduate, Tippie made his first donation to UI in 1953 — a $5 gift to the Chester F. Phillips Scholarship Fund.
That swelled, as Tippie’s wealth grew, and the university in 1999 named its business college in honor of the couple’s philanthropy.
He continued his giving through service, as a member of the national campaign committee for Iowa Endowment 2000 and on the steering committee for UI’s $1 billion “Good. Better. Best.” campaign — among other things.
He and Patricia were honorary chairs for the “For Iowa. Forever More.” campaign that started quietly in 2008, went public with a $1.7 billion goal in 2013, and ended up amassing donations from 272,543 individuals totally $1.975 billion by 2017.
As part of that campaign, the Tippies created a $15 million matching challenge that added $30 million to the effort.
“He had a generous soul that led him to show his thankfulness both financially and through enthusiastic personal support,” current Tippie Dean Amy Kristof-Brown said in a statement. “Knowing that Henry had faith in me as a new dean to guide the college that bears his name was the greatest gift that he could give.”
The Tippies’ love for athletics and the Hawekeyes fueled their giving to student-athletes, administration, and facilities. In a statement following his death, Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz called Tippie not only "a generous financial contributor to the University of Iowa and our football program“ but a "friend to our coaches, staff and student athletes.”
“His philosophy and approach to business was like our approach to football, which is to work hard, assess what you did well, prepare to do better and then move forward,” Ferentz said. “My initial hope when meeting Henry and Pat more than a decade ago was that they would make a gift to the football program. Not only did we receive a financial contribution, but it was the beginning of a close and wonderful friendship.”
In recognition of his contributions to the UI campus, students, faculty research, and the sweeping implications his work and support has meant, Tippie over the years has received numerous honors, including the “UI Distinguished Service Alumni Award,” the “Hancher Finkbine Medallion, the ”Outstanding Accounting Alumni Award,” and in 1996 the Horatio Alger Award.
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UI in 2009 and from Allegheny College in 2011, and he became the 17th member of the NYSE Wall of Fame in 2018.
“Henry was equally comfortable in a tuxedo in New York City and bluejeans in Waco,” Fethke said in a statement of his friend Tippie, who for years owned a 33,000-acre ranch in Texas. “He could relate to everyone from CEOs and university presidents to janitors. He knew how to take risks and invest aggressively, and he knew when to be humble.”
In 2020, Tippie recorded a video message for UI’s business college graduates — acknowledging the unparalleled circumstances they were embarking into and encouraging them nonetheless.
“You are graduating during a most challenging time,” he said. “Your future will be what you make it.”
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Tippie — who grew up on a farm in Belle Plaine, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, attended UI on the G.I. Bill, and made his way to Wall Street, where his business acumen propelled the wealth he’d use to launch endless philanthropic endeavors — passed at his home in Austin, Texas.
“Optimism, conditioned on reality, was ever present with Henry, and he really believed that ‘every day is a new day,’” Gary Fethke, dean emeritus of the UI business college, said of the man he worked closely with — the man he called, “an Iowa success story.”
“He was a plain man who achieved great things, thoroughly enjoyed his life, appreciated his friends, loved his wife, and made the world a better place,” Fethke said.
Tippie left a literal mark across the UI campus and state of Iowa.
- Among funds he donated to what would become the UI Tippie College of Business, he supported a 175-seat auditorium, student lounge, and Pat’s diner, named after his wife Patricia;
- Tippie helped endow the Henry Fund, along with Henry Royer, allowing students to manage real-world investments;
- He served on the UI board of visitors, later named the Tippie Advisory Board;
- In 2004, he helped establish the Tippie Society, recognizing those who make a philanthropic impact on the university with a gift of $1 million or more;
- His giving has established six Tippie-related faculty chairs, eight Tippie professorships, and 17 fellowships;
- He’s created several endowed scholarships for student-athletes;
- Tippie gave the naming gift for the Tippie All-American Room in the Stew and LeNore Hansen Football Performance Center;
- And in 2017, he established the Henry B and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair, the first endowed position in the UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
But Tippie’s impact stretched far beyond those entities, facilities, positions, and awards that bear his name to the people earning them, employed by them, and working and learning in and through them.
As of the 2021 budget year, the Tippies had provided more than 900 scholarship awards for UI students.
"I felt that if I could ever get in a position where I could give some assistance to those in need of a University of Iowa education, then I would try to do something as repayment," Tippie once said.
Business acumen
That commitment stemmed from the start Tippie’s UI Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree in accounting gave him, launching him into his first job as a junior accountant in the Des Moines area.
He became a certified public accountant in 1951 — remaining a member of the Iowa Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs for more than 50 years — and joined John W. Rollins and Associates, a small Delaware-based communications firm, as its controller in 1953.
He helped Rollins acquire the pest-control company Orkin in 1964 through a deal that marked among the first leveraged buyouts in U.S. history of a major corporation by a smaller company, according to the UI Center for Advancement.
The deal — which eventually became a Harvard Business School case study — turned Rollins into a publicly-traded Fortune 1000 firm with more than 700 pest control operations in 55 countries and five companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Even after retiring, Tippie stayed active in the Rollins leadership — going to the office and attending meetings in Atlanta or Delaware.
And he always credited his success back to Iowa.
“When I was in college, I was a total unknown,” he said during a speech on the UI campus in 2014, but added, “When I got out of there, I had a foundation that would prepare me for things ahead.
“I am the recipient of somebody giving me a chance.”
Philanthropy
With little to give back as a recent graduate, Tippie made his first donation to UI in 1953 — a $5 gift to the Chester F. Phillips Scholarship Fund.
That swelled, as Tippie’s wealth grew, and the university in 1999 named its business college in honor of the couple’s philanthropy.
He continued his giving through service, as a member of the national campaign committee for Iowa Endowment 2000 and on the steering committee for UI’s $1 billion “Good. Better. Best.” campaign — among other things.
He and Patricia were honorary chairs for the “For Iowa. Forever More.” campaign that started quietly in 2008, went public with a $1.7 billion goal in 2013, and ended up amassing donations from 272,543 individuals totally $1.975 billion by 2017.
As part of that campaign, the Tippies created a $15 million matching challenge that added $30 million to the effort.
“He had a generous soul that led him to show his thankfulness both financially and through enthusiastic personal support,” current Tippie Dean Amy Kristof-Brown said in a statement. “Knowing that Henry had faith in me as a new dean to guide the college that bears his name was the greatest gift that he could give.”
The Tippies’ love for athletics and the Hawekeyes fueled their giving to student-athletes, administration, and facilities. In a statement following his death, Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz called Tippie not only "a generous financial contributor to the University of Iowa and our football program“ but a "friend to our coaches, staff and student athletes.”
“His philosophy and approach to business was like our approach to football, which is to work hard, assess what you did well, prepare to do better and then move forward,” Ferentz said. “My initial hope when meeting Henry and Pat more than a decade ago was that they would make a gift to the football program. Not only did we receive a financial contribution, but it was the beginning of a close and wonderful friendship.”
Honors
In recognition of his contributions to the UI campus, students, faculty research, and the sweeping implications his work and support has meant, Tippie over the years has received numerous honors, including the “UI Distinguished Service Alumni Award,” the “Hancher Finkbine Medallion, the ”Outstanding Accounting Alumni Award,” and in 1996 the Horatio Alger Award.
He received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from UI in 2009 and from Allegheny College in 2011, and he became the 17th member of the NYSE Wall of Fame in 2018.
“Henry was equally comfortable in a tuxedo in New York City and bluejeans in Waco,” Fethke said in a statement of his friend Tippie, who for years owned a 33,000-acre ranch in Texas. “He could relate to everyone from CEOs and university presidents to janitors. He knew how to take risks and invest aggressively, and he knew when to be humble.”
In 2020, Tippie recorded a video message for UI’s business college graduates — acknowledging the unparalleled circumstances they were embarking into and encouraging them nonetheless.
“You are graduating during a most challenging time,” he said. “Your future will be what you make it.”
Henry Tippie, UI business college namesake, dies at 95
The namesake of the University of Iowa’s Henry B. Tippie College of Business – and numerous other funds, societies, scholarships, boards, faculty chairs, professorships, fellowships, and facility rooms – died Sunday at the age of 95.
www.thegazette.com
