John and Paula McClung became involved with Ithaca College when their daughter was a student, and they have remained committed ever since. They worked together as co-chairs of the Parents Fund, and John now serves as a College trustee. They have also recently provided a generous gift to the athletics and events center.
When John and Paula first visited Ithaca College with their daughter, Alison, they thought it would be a fine place for her. “We came away feeling very good about the school,” John said, “but we never told Alison that.” Instead, they let her decide. Ithaca became Alison’s first choice.
At the time, Ithaca was one of only four institutions in the country that offered both a physical therapy program in which students could enroll as freshmen and a strong gymnastics program. Alison was a gifted gymnast whose recovery from sports-related injuries had led to an interest in physical therapy.
During that first visit to Ithaca the family met with the women’s gymnastics coach, Rick Suddaby, but his office wasn’t big enough to fit four people at once, “so somebody had to sit in the hall,” John recalled.
During Alison’s student days, the McClungs were asked to co-chair the Parents Fund. “We got involved,” John said, “because our daughter was having such a positive experience.”
Following her graduation in 1998 with a B.S. and 1999 with a master’s degree in physical therapy, Alison McClung (now Hanson) moved to Los Angeles, where she is a practicing physical therapist. “The training she got at Ithaca was excellent,” her father said. “I don’t know that she could have gotten a better education anywhere else.”
The McClungs’ involvement didn’t end there. They continued supporting the College with unrestricted gifts and contributions to the fund for women’s gymnastics. Then, in 2005, John joined the Ithaca College Board of Trustees. At the same time, he remembered that first visit to Coach Suddaby’s office.
“I always felt that Ithaca had wonderful athletic programs despite the facilities. The facilities didn’t measure up to the skills of the athletes and their coaches.” So John and Paula made a $125,000 commitment to the athletics and events center.
“It’s important,” John added, “to try and get people to give back and help make Ithaca a better place for future generations of students.”
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20070830150327354