William Scandling

William F. "Bill" Scandling (June 17 1922 - August 22 2005) was an American
businessman and philanthropist who was one of thefounders of Saga Corporation a multi billion dollar foodservice and restaurant companyhttp://www.oracle.com/corporate/pressroom/html/henley.html accessed 17 February 2008] http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/becites/91-28858.idx.html "United States Corporation Histories A Bibliography 1965-1990 A Second Edition" by Wahib Nasrallah (1991)] .Scandling donated money to his alma mater Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He also funded the redevelopment of the
Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the
University of Rochester which was renamed to honor his wife in 1993http://www.rochester.edu/Warner/warnerataglance/scandling/index.html accessed 17 February 2008] .

Biography

Scandling grew up in Rochester, New York and attended several Rochester areahigh schools, graduating from Brighton High School in 1940http://www.brightonalumni.org/documents/06BSAAHoFDinnerProgram.pdf] .He started work as a salesman for a Men's Clothier spending some time travellingthrough the midwest. He was called to military service in July 1942 and served in the Pacific theater for the Army Air Forces during World War II.In his military service he eventually rose to the rank of
Technical Sergeant working for the Army Airways Communication Systemhttp://web.hws.edu/alumni/remarkable/displaynotablealum.asp?notablealumid=57 accessed 16 February 2008] .

At the close of the war Scandling enrolled at Hobart Collegewith financial support from the G.I. Bill.In 1948 Scandling, along with fellow veteran-classmates Harry W. Anderson and W. P. Laughlin, took over operation of the Hobart dining hall which had been nearing bankruptcy. The following yearthey started providing dining services for William Smith College.Scandling graduated from Hobart in 1949 with a degree on Economics. He and his partnerscontinued to operate their cafeteria business and incorporated it in the lates 1940s.After learning that Geneva was built on an old Native American village called Kanadasaga, it was decided that Saga Corporation would be a fitting name for the newcompany.

In the summer of 1952 Saga opened operations at their third account at Kalamazoo College.In 1962 Saga's national headquarters opened in Menlo Park, California.In 1968 Saga went public, offering 321,000 shares of common stock. By 1970 Saga was serving meals to hospitals and retirement communities in addition to college cafeterias and was also operating its first two restaurant chains Black Angushttp://www.blackangus.com/company/co_history.php accessed 16 February 2008] and the Velvet Turtle'. By 1973 Saga was serving more than 400,000,000 meals a year. Other restaurant chains operated by Saga included Straw Hat Pizzahttp://www.strawhatpizza.com/history/ accessed 16 February 2008] and MacArthur Park. At its height Saga ran food service contracts for more than400 universities, colleges, hospitals, and retirement homeshttp://salk.edu/insidesalk/pdf/InsideSalk_12_03.pdf accessed 16 February 2008] .

Scandling served as Saga Corporation's president from 1968 to 1978. He said that one of his proudest achievements was in 1984 when Saga was named one of the 100 best companies in America to work for, according to his familyhttp://www.almanacnews.com/morgue/2005/2005_09_14.obitscandling.shtml accessed 16 February 2008] .

In 1986, Scandling and his partners sold Saga to Marriott Corporation in a hostile takeover valued at more than $400 millionhttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7DF1E3BF933A15756C0A960948260 accessed 17 February 2008] . Despite the sale Scandling had opposed the takeover and wrote about it in a 1994 book "The Saga of Saga: the Life and Death of an American Dream" . Writing in the Winter 1997 issue of the "Pultney Street Survey" alumni and alumnae magazine for Hobart and William Smith Colleges Dana Cooke wrote about Saga corporation that "In the 39 years it existed, the company changed the face of college food service nationwide, introducing contracting and service concepts to the industry. It pioneered a staff-empowerment management style decades before such philosophies came into vogue."http://campus.hws.edu/NEW/pss/Saga.html accessed 16 February 2008]

Scandling was awarded an honorary degree from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1967http://academic.hws.edu/library/archives/SAGA.html accessed 17 February 2008] . In 1998 Saga Corporation founders Scandling, Anderson, and Laughlin were awardedthe Medal of Excellence from the Hobart Alumni Association. At that time the Colleges and Marriott had a ceremony to note the legacy of Saga Corporation and the main dining hall in the Scandling Center was formally be renamed Saga.

Scandling's first wife Margaret Warner Scandling died in 1990. In 1995 Scandling married Yvette Farquharson-Oliver. The Scandling's had a son named Michael and resided in Atherton, California. William Scandling died August 22 2005 in Montreal at the age of 83.

Scandling was a member of many professional societies. He was a member of the Menlo Country Club in Woodside, California, and the Seneca Yacht Club in Geneva, New York.Scandling established the Scandling Family Foundation in 2000.

Philanthropy

Scandling served on the Board of Trustees for Hobart and William Smith Colleges for 20 years and was the chairman for 11 from 1972-1983. In 1984, the Scandling Student Center at
Hobart and William Smith Colleges was named to honor Scandling's generous philanthropic commitment to the Colleges. The Colleges' 65 foot research vessel was renamed from "HWS Explorer" to "William F. Scandling" in his honor [http://fli.hws.edu/education.asp Hobart and William Smith Colleges :: Finger Lakes Institute ] ] [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/partnersinscience/links.html Partners In Science: Web Links ] ] .In 2003, Scandling made the largest gift in the history of Hobart and William Smith Colleges ($15 million).Scandling's gifts to Hobart and William Smith Colleges totaled more than $30 million.In 1997 then President of Hobart and William Smith Colleges Richard H. Hersh was reported by Dana Cooke to havesaid: "Most colleges like ours have patron saints and guardian angels, who are key to their surviving and thriving. Bishop Hobart, William Smith, a few presidents, and Bill Scandling are in that category for us." in the Winter 1997 issue of the "Pultney Street Survey" alumni and alumnae magazinehttp://campus.hws.edu/NEW/pss/saga2.html accessed 16 February 2008] .

The Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the
University of Rochester (established 1958) was renamed in 1993 to honor the memory and legacy of his late wife, Margaret Warner Scandling, who had graduated from the University of Rochester in 1944. Mr. Scandling made gifts over the years totaling more than $14 million to the Warner School. http://www.rochester.edu/Warner/newsevents/scandling.html accedded 16 February 2008] .

In addition to Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and the University of Rochester, Scandling was a major contributor to
Johns Hopkins University where he established The Paul R. McHugh Endowed Chair in Motivated Behaviors in 1998, http://webapps.jhu.edu/namedprofessorships/professorshipdetail.cfm?professorshipID=181 accessed 16 February 2008] ,
Deep Springs College where he served on the Board of Trustees for 8 years, the Salk Institute where a $1 million gift funded the William Scandling Developmental Chair for an Assistant Professorhttp://salk.edu/insidesalk/pdf/InsideSalk_12_03.pdf accedded 16 February 2008] http://www.salk.edu/news/news_press_details.php?id=189 accessed 16 February 2008] http://www.salk.edu/faculty/faculty_faculty.php?sid=faculty accessed 16 February 2008] http://www.salk.edu/faculty/faculty_laboratories_details.php?id=16 accessed 16 February 2008] ,and Northern Arizona Universityhttp://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2234 accessed 16 February 2008] .

The Scandlings created the Scandling Family Foundation in 2000.Scandling and the foundation also contributed to many community-based organizations and causessuch as the Peninsula Habitat for Humanityhttp://www.peninsulahabitat.org/partnerships/partnerships_pl_priv.html accessed 17 February 2008] , the Marine Science Institute in
Redwood City, Californiahttp://cmiregistration.com/util/media.jxp?id=980442&org=261&org=261 accessed 17 February] , the Equestrian Therapy Program at the Stein Education Center main campus of Vista Hill Foundation center in San Diego, Californiahttp://www.vistahill.org/vh-1365%20newsletter%20final.pdf] http://cmiregistration.com/util/media.jxp?id=980442&org=261&org=261 accessed 17 February 2008] ,as well as the John Hart Hunter Educational Foundation of the Kappa Alpha Societyhttp://www.johnharthuntereducationalfoundation.org/donor.asp accessed 18 February 2008] .Scandling also contributed to political fundraising drives such as the Campbell (R) for Senate campaignhttp://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/william-scandling.asp?cycle=04 accessed 16 February 2008.] .

See also

* Kappa Alpha Society Alumni

Bibliography

* (1994) "The Saga of Saga: The Life and Death of an American Dream" 382 pp.; Vista Linda Press; Mill Valley, CA; ISBN 9780963915009.

References

External links

* [http://www.sagafoundation.org The Saga Foundation] founded by William P. Laughlin, co-founder of the Saga Corporation is dedicated to raising awareness and creating models for action to increase nuclear safety and security.