Making UMN Morris a Model for Living and Learning

Rick Hargrave '71 enjoyed a successful career in business, including service as the chief financial officer at Sandusky International Inc. Now he utilizes beneficial planning tools like the qualified charitable distribution (QCD), or IRA charitable rollover, while supporting UMN Morris and other non-profits that are important to him and his wife, Rose.

Rick established the endowed Richard A. Hargrave Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship in 2010. Recently he has made generous additions to the fund while taking advantage of the benefits of the IRA charitable rollover.

"As a licensed CPA and tax return preparer, I have often recommended a QCD to my clients," he says.

Rick moved to Clarkfield, Minnesota, while in high school and graduated there with classmates, including the late John Driscoll '71. He is grateful for his education and experience at UMN Morris and provides scholarship assistance so others can share the advantages of a Morris degree.

When Rick enrolled at Morris, he had math in mind but soon encountered a related interest. "I got interested in philosophy by taking a logic course, really enjoyed it, took another," he says. "I developed a friendship with Dr. Donald Norris in philosophy. Through math, I met Dr. Gill Gallagher, who offered a self-study course in mathematical logic—that's the tie in between my two majors."

After graduating, Rick attended Bowling Green State University and earned a Master of Accountancy. As a grad student, he taught computer programming. His first position was with KPMG auditing and tax firm in Toledo, Ohio.

"At the time, computer auditing was coming into prominence, and I was hired to lead their effort," Rick says. "My first client was Sandusky International." Ten years later, Sandusky, an international company specializing in papermaking machinery, offered him its director of finance and data processing position. In 1990, he was elected vice president and chief financial officer and supervised financial reporting, data processing, tax, risk, and cash management, purchasing, benefits, banking and legal relationships, and finances for operations in Glenrothes, Scotland; Manchester, England; Melbourne, Australia; Johannesburg, South Africa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Rick's gratitude—for studying at a small campus conducive to students and faculty interaction and for scholarships and work study—is reflected in the Richard A. Hargrave Promise of Tomorrow Scholarship.

"Creating a scholarship is an opportunity to give back and to assist students in pursuing a quality education," Rick says. "I hope recipients look back at their time at Morris as one that helped them grow and prepare for vocations, and that someday, they, too, will be in positions to help future students."

If you would like to learn how you can make a lasting impact on UMN Morris students like Rick has, please contact Susan Schmidgall, CDO, at 320-589-6160 or sschmidg@morris.umn.edu.