Personal Giving Stories
Merv Pregulman brings U-M family together
 |
As a resident of Chattanooga, Tenn., for 48 years, Merv Pregulman (AB ’44) knew he didn’t exactly live in Maize and Blue Country. He discovered that 185 U-M alumni lived in the metro area of some 350,000, but the alumni club had been “dormant” for decades. Merv and a small group of alumni formed an executive committee that made the plans and got the local alumni together. He and his wife, Helen (BA ’49), are staunch supporters of the Michigan Difference campaign—she serves on the School of Social Work’s Campaign Task Force.
Pregulman was the ideal person to generate the effort. He was an All-American football player under Fritz Crisler, and had been drafted into the NFL before his service for three years in World War II got in the way. A longtime friend of the Athletic Department, in 2004 he won the prestigious Gerald R. Ford Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics, presented annually to a former letter-winning Wolverine who epitomizes “excellence in scholarship, sport and society.” He persuaded his friend, coach Lloyd Carr, to be a part of the gathering and speak to the group along with U-M Vice President for Development Jerry May, and then managed to bring 115 guests to the city’s Aquarium for an outstanding Michigan night.
“Alumni here love the University, and they’re
hungry for information about it,” Pregulman
says. They jumped at the opportunity to
reconnect with the “Michigan Family.”
“Most every alum in this area was happy
to hear from us and to support us as they
can.” The best surprises of the night, he adds,
came when acquaintances who had known
each other for years realized for the first time
that they were fellow “Michigan grads.” The affair was a
rousing success, leading to the revival of a long-slumbering
alumni club with an infusion of new energy.
Michigan, says Pregulman, “really is a family.” But even a family needs someone like Pregulman to bring it together to celebrate and strengthen ties now and then.
Office of Planned Giving
University of Michigan Office of University Development
734-615-2022 • toll free 866-233-6661 • Contact Us
Disclaimer