W. Douglas and Carol McGaughey

Heather's SU Major: Theatre Arts & Dance (minor)
Career path: Intern on Broadway, Regional Theatre in Iowa, Leading performances for Sandstone Productions in Farmington, New Mexico.
Future Gift Impact: Doug and Carol McGaughey established a charitable gift annuity to support an endowed scholarship in honor of their daughter, Heather J. McGaughey '04, while simultaneously providing an income stream for themselves.

Given Doug's long career in non-profits, including higher education fundraising and estate planning, when he and his wife, Carol, a retired college professor and administrator, decided that they wanted to make a gift in honor of their daughter, Heather, SU Class of 2004, in memory of her untimely passing a year after graduation, they knew supporting her beloved alma mater was most fitting. Doug and Carol created an endowed scholarship in Heather's name that benefits theater students today. In addition, they established a charitable gift annuity that allowed them to receive an immediate tax deduction, provides them with income for life, and, most importantly, will add additional income to the scholarship fund after their lives. As Doug says, "…the tools and techniques of planned gifts can help meet the personal and philanthropic objectives of individuals, couples, and families." In addition to the charitable gift annuity, he and Carol have included a testamentary charitable remainder unitrust in their estate plans, along with other specific bequest provisions, to one day benefit Southwestern students. As Doug explains, "IRA retirement funds that would otherwise be immediately taxable to our heirs will instead be more favorably treated while providing income and, ultimately, an estate gift to SU."

The McGaugheys say that SU is "a very large part of our daughter's legacy. She loved her university, friends, and faculty…and grew as a beautiful young woman in many ways during her time at SU." As a National Merit Recognized Scholar, founder and president of the drama club at her high school, and an active participant in many other school and community projects, Heather had received attractive admission offers from a number of prestigious universities. Heather also consistently received information and personal contact from Southwestern, so she decided to audition for a theatre scholarship and spend a weekend on campus with a high school friend. Her parents say that "After that visit, Heather felt that SU had the academic challenge, college campus atmosphere, and the wide range of opportunities that she was seeking." As an added bonus, she'd get to start performing right away.

During her time at Southwestern, Heather enjoyed many leading theater roles, earned a King Creativity Fund grant for her work in costuming, participated in SU's spring dance recitals, and was invited to join a secret campus service organization that her parents didn't even know about until graduation. Some of the McGaugheys' favorite memories were waiting with other parents for their students to emerge from backstage. "The actors would come out, some still with their stage make-up, giddy with the adrenaline surge following a successful performance. Heather would be glowing as we gave her a bouquet of flowers and took her, and often others, out for refreshments."

Doug and Carol hope that their gifts will perpetuate Heather's legacy and her vision of the importance of the theatre arts, assist theater students, and grow the theatre department, which they have helped sustain by contributing funds for refurbishments to Heather Hall, recruiting trips, and the creation of Theatre for Young Audiences courses at SU. They say, "We support Southwestern University in Heather's memory and because we believe strongly in liberal arts education and the performing and visual arts…The stewardship of our gifts and of us as donors has been excellent." The McGaugheys encourage others to "think about your goals and interests in caring for yourselves and family first, then how to benefit SU and other charitable interests you may have. You might be able to do more than you ever thought possible."

Interested in learning more about how to include Southwestern University in your will, trust or retirement plan? Contact the Development Office at 512-863-1211 to learn about gift options and opportunities.

If you have already named Southwestern University as a beneficiary, please let us know of your plans. This will enable us not only to show our appreciation of your generosity, but also to include your support in planning for the future of Southwestern.