Meet our Heritage Society Members
Meet our Heritage Society Members
Rick Thorpe '55
Rick Thorpe '55, has been a member of the Heritage Society since 2000 when he established a Charitable Remainder Unit Trust benefiting Webb. He is highlighted here because of his long history of service to and support of Webb Institute.
The 2000 William Selkirk Owen Award recipient, Rick is the donor of the athletic field, named in honor of his father, Richard Warren Thorpe; and student dorm furniture in memory of his mother, Margaret Matthews Thorpe. His career includes three shipyards; Bethlehem Steel's Quincy Yard, and in Maine South Portland Engineering Co. and Bath Iron Works. Later in his career he was employed by John J. McMullen Associates, the Shipbuilder's Council of America, Kvaerner Masa Marine, and Herbert Engineering Corp.
He is a graduate of the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology in nuclear engineering and has a MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Webb's Industry Advisory Group (IAG), an advisory committee to the Dean which provides feedback from the industry on the adequacy of the academic program at Webb in preparing graduates to become and to remain contributing members of their professional communities.
Rick recommends that Webb graduates consider Charitable Remainder Unit Trusts as a planned giving vehicle. They document the donation to the school and can be customized to provide annual income and tax benefits to the donor.
The story of how he selected Webb is interesting. The "America's Toughest School" 1949 Saturday Evening Post article alerted him to Webb's outstanding academic program. Decision time arrived after his acceptance with scholarships to Webb, Harvard, and MIT. His father was the Business Manager of Radcliffe College, who frequently lunched with his friends at the Harvard Business School faculty club as he said "to get away from the woman at Radcliffe". During the 1950s on the average about 10% of Webb graduates attended HBS. When he surveyed the faculty about their recommendation among these three schools, Webb was their unanimous choice!