Editor's Column: Bringing Wyoming "Starrs" to MSU

            If there were an “unsung hero” award at MSU, a strong candidate would be Trustee Emeritus Jack Shingleton.

            Many alumni from my generation know Jack as the longtime head of MSU’s Placement Services, a position from which he helped countless students.  Younger alums will remember him as a key member of the MSU Board of Trustees from 1991-1999. Shingleton was a leader who dealt with some of the most controversial issues faced by the university in recent times.

            Less known, but equally significant, is that Jack bailed MSU out of several crises.  He served as interim athletics director and as interim alumni director during times of turmoil for those two organizations, and restored order to systems that had become nearly dysfunctional.  He helped the late John A. Hannah complete some very specific missions critical to MSU. A graduate of the class of 1948, Jack was also an outstanding tennis player for MSU.

            Since leaving the university’s governing board, Shingleton has been instrumental in helping run one of the most successful, albeit little known, scholarship programs at MSU—the STARRS Charitable Foundation Scholarship program.

            The program was begun in 1998 by two anonymous MSU alumni, who wanted to provide opportunities for outstanding students in Wyoming to attend MSU for four years with all regular costs covered. To qualify, students must have at least a 3.0 grade point average and, most importantly, have outstanding personal character and leadership ability.  The donors tapped Shingleton, whom they knew from their student days, to run this program. Jack is quick to share credit with his longtime partner Chuck Webb, the former vice president for University Development at MSU, for establishing the program.   

            The donors gained tremendous experiences at MSU and want young people from a given region to have the same experiences.  As Jack explains, “They looked out in their home state of Wyoming and saw outstanding kids in very rural communities whose horizons were limited by family resources.  They wanted to present an opportunity that is second-to-none for these kids to see the other side of the world.” 

            In the past 12 years of volunteer service, Jack has brought 45 scholarship beneficiaries to MSU—including a young woman who made the crew team and became MSU’s first All-American woman in crew, another who landed a position in the tuba line of the MSU Marching Band as a 5-foot tall freshman, and former Spartan basketball player Jacob Hannon.  “It has truly been one of the greatest joys of my life,” he says.

            But Jack has reluctantly decided it is time for him to retire from his leadership role.  “The STARR Charitable Foundation Scholarship that Jack Shingleton so expertly helped develop stands solidly and serves as a model of excellence for others wishing to establish similar scholarship awards,” says Bob Groves, MSU’s vice president for University Advancement.  “We have been extremely fortunate to have Jack’s advocacy and experience in this program.  His direct involvement will be missed but his legacy will endure.”

            Indeed.  For someone who has played so many critical roles in the advancement of Michigan State, Jack still counts his involvement with the STARR scholars as a highlight.  “To be able to do this in the twilight of my years here has been extraordinary,” he says.