In this episode of You Can’t Take it With You, Janet Riggs joins Jim Dunlop to explore the intersection of empathy, education, and philanthropy. They discuss Janet’s personal path to becoming a champion of generosity, the impactful stories of giving that have marked her career, and how empathy can lead to substantial support for education and community welfare.
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Janet Riggs is a distinguished figure in the realm of higher education, having dedicated over four decades to Gettysburg College. A graduate of the class of 1977, she went on to earn her MA and PhD in social psychology from Princeton University. Janet’s career at Gettysburg began as an assumed temporary faculty position in 1981, eventually leading to her role as the 14th president of the college, a position she held for 11 years until her retirement in 2019.
Throughout her tenure, she was recognized for her dedication to teaching and leadership, receiving accolades such as the Gettysburg College Student Senate Faculty Appreciation Award, the Thompson Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Woman of Distinction Award. Janet’s presidency was marked by a commitment to inclusion, internationalization, and the transformation of the campus, spearheading the “Gettysburg Great: The Campaign for Our College,” which raised over $160 million. Additionally, her advocacy for liberal arts education extended beyond Gettysburg through her leadership in state and national organizations, contributing significantly to the discourse on higher education and liberal arts.
Jim and Janet will discuss:
- Janet’s life outside Gettysburg College
- How and why Janet decided she wanted to be a generous person
- Stories of generosity that highlight the impact of small acts of kindness
- What Janet has been doing since she retired
- The importance of giving and the joy it brings
- Why empathy is a crucial aspect of communication and support
Episode Summary:
What does it take to build a legacy of generosity that transcends personal achievement and profoundly impacts education and community? How can empathy drive this process to create meaningful change?
Janet Riggs, a distinguished former president of Gettysburg College with a rich history in academia and philanthropy, emphasizes the critical importance of empathy in nurturing a culture of giving. She argues that understanding the personal stories and motivations behind philanthropy can significantly enhance the effectiveness of donations. Janet explains that empathy not only inspires individuals to give but also encourages strategic philanthropic efforts that address core educational and community needs. Her approach underscores the belief that true generosity involves more than just financial contributions—it requires a deep connection to the causes and people one aims to support, ensuring that every act of giving yields lasting benefits.
In this episode of You Can’t Take it With You, Janet Riggs joins Jim Dunlop to explore the intersection of empathy, education, and philanthropy. They discuss Janet’s personal path to becoming a champion of generosity, the impactful stories of giving that have marked her career, and how empathy can lead to substantial support for education and community welfare.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Jim Dunlop on LinkedIn
- Advent Partners
- Janet Riggs email: riggs@gettysburg.edu
- Gettysburg College
- Adams County Community Foundation
Sponsor for this episode:
This episode is brought to you by Advent Partners — a financial planning partner dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey.
Our seasoned team of professionals is committed to guiding you toward your financial goals. We offer tailored solutions based on your specific needs, from standalone financial planning to integrated financial management.
Whether you are planning for the future, investing for growth, or navigating financial hurdles, Advent Partners is here to provide insights, recommendations, and a clear financial roadmap.
To learn more about Advent Partners and how we can guide your financial success, visit AdventPartnersFP.com.
Episode Transcript:
Intro 0:00
Welcome to the You Can’t Take it With You show where we feature stories around generosity designed to inspire and encourage others to do meaningful things in their communities. Now, here’s your host, Jim Dunlop.
Jim Dunlop 0:17
Hi. Jim Dunlop here, a wealth advisor and host of this show where I sit down with people who get it when it comes to generosity. I’m excited to have guests who can give us stories on generosity to not only inspire our listeners, but to give practical ideas on ways we can give. Today’s guest is Janet Riggs. But before we get to Janet, I want to share that this episode is brought to you by Advent Partners, get ready for good. Advent is a financial planning team dedicated to helping you make informed decisions that simplify your financial journey. Advent’s seasoned team of professionals is committed to guiding you toward your financial goals. We offer tailored solutions based on your specific needs. From standalone financial planning to Integrated Financial Management, we help our clients get ready for good whether you’re planning for the future, investing for growth, or navigating financial hurdles. Advent Partners is here to provide insights, recommendations, and a clear financial roadmap. To learn more about Advent Partners and how we can guide your financial success, visit readyforgood.com. Someone I’ve admired a long time is Janet. She and her husband Ed, if you’ve met them, are generous people. She spent a lot of time working with generous people professionally and I’m guessing will be inspired by this conversation. I got to know Janet over 20 years ago when we both served on our church council together. So let me properly introduce her. Gettysburg College has played a huge role in Janet’s life; she is a Gettysburg graduate from the class of 1977. And with the encouragement of some fantastic mentors, went on to get her PhD in Social Psychology from Princeton. She returned to Gettysburg College as a faculty member in what was supposed to be a one-year temporary position and retired 38 years later, after serving in a variety of faculty and administrative roles. She served as the College’s president for the final 11 years of her career. Janet, welcome.
Janet Riggs 2:10
Thanks, Jim.
Jim Dunlop 2:12
So it’s fun to hear about your professional roadmap, which mostly was here at Gettysburg College. Tell me a little bit more about you outside of the Gettysburg.
Janet Riggs 2:23
Sure, well, I’ve lived in Pennsylvania most of my life, I was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. I’m the youngest in a family of five. I have two older siblings, both brothers. So you know, I had the great position of being the youngest and being the only girl, my brothers still refer to me as the princess. I went to I went to Gettysburg College on the advice of a guidance counselor, and also the recommendation of one of my brother’s friends and you know, I visited the campus had a great vibe, I remember this vividly all those years ago, I applied early decision and definitely no regrets about having attended Gettysburg it’s played such a central role in my life. And it’s a role that I really would not have anticipated. I guess I should say from the outset that my professional life has followed that trajectory that I definitely didn’t plan on had the span and really a story of doors being opened to me and me being in a position to be able to walk through them. And so I just feel tremendous gratitude for those who opened those doors and those who encouraged me to walk through. Back in my student days, I started as a math major. But that was the end of the job. And I kept that major up all my four years. But I fell in love with the field of psychology. And as you mentioned, with the encouragement of a faculty member, I went on to graduate school and that led to a PhD from Princeton. And as I was looking for jobs, there happened to be an opening at Gettysburg College that was a temporary opening. So, I came back to Gettysburg in 1981 thinking I’d be here for a year and retired in 2019 from Gettysburg College. So definitely, as I said, not what I was planning. One thing just led to another I had, as I said I had opportunities offered to me and some chances to take on some administrative roles at various points during my career. And so I am really just grateful for all the opportunities that Gettysburg College offered to me. The other thing that I owe Gettysburg College is that’s where I met my husband Ed, for forty-five years. And we have three grown children now that we raised in Gettysburg, they’re all married and now they’re giving us grandchildren. So as you said, and I will keep reinforcing, I owe an awful lot to Gettysburg College.
Jim Dunlop 4:56
Very good. So you know, this is a show about generosity, and I know you and Ed in the community, in your involvement, obviously with the college, church, the Gettysburg, community theater, Adams County Community Foundation, all organizations and others that do great things in the community. But tell me a little bit about how you got inspired and why you’re a generous person. And what gives you that motivation.
Janet Riggs 5:29
And this may surprise you, but I would say that my focus on generosity didn’t come in until pretty late in the game. That’s not to say that I didn’t have some very positive influences early on. Parents certainly didn’t have much money to donate to a good cause. But my mother was always generous with her time, particularly with her church. And my father worked for the United Way of Philadelphia, not a fundraiser, but he was in the administrative end of things. And so I always heard about United Way, you know, from the time I was very young. And so I have this sense of the importance of community support. And, you know, if I was thinking about this, something else just occurred to me, which is a little bit of a tangent, but a little anecdote about generosity and my family. And I remember this so vividly, when I was about 15, my brother was in the service, and he was in Vietnam. And I had worn eyeglasses, as I’m wearing right now, since I was seven years old, and I always want to wear contact lenses. And my family couldn’t afford them. And he sent home money, so that I could have contact lenses. And that act of generosity I will never forget, I was so bowled over by that. And I think somehow that sort of laid a path for me. I don’t know, that’s to come back to that so often. But I really didn’t think a lot about philanthropy. Until I was working at Gettysburg College and some administrative roles, I began to really see the impact of generosity on students’ lives, and often through scholarship support, and I heard students talking about how grateful they were to be able to come to Gettysburg College, and they would not have been able to do that without the support of someone who, who was willing to provide the financing for that. And also student experiences, you know, that were financed by donors. And that’s when I really started to think a lot about wow, people can really make a difference, whether it’s one large donation, or whether it’s many smaller donations coming together. Philanthropy really does matter and can really have a significant impact on people’s lives. And then I, you know, I got to the point where, Ed and I felt like we had an opportunity to be philanthropic, we got to a point in our lives where we felt like we had that ability.
Jim Dunlop 8:17
That’s really cool. And even though your brother likes to refer to you as the princess, he, you know, still looks out for you. And what a neat little story. Do you remind him of that often?
Janet Riggs 8:34
Once in a while. But you know, I think he didn’t even think that much about it. It was something he could do. And he wanted to do it. And you know, did it. And I don’t think he realized the impact that it had on me.
Jim Dunlop 8:47
Yeah, this is a side note to this. We have three children in my family. I’m the oldest, I’m a brother, and then the baby. The Princess is a sister just like your family. My brother, older brother, and I have always known who the favorite child is and my parents. My mom will pretend that she doesn’t have a favorite, but my dad doesn’t even pretend to say of course, it’s your sister.
Janet Riggs 9:11
That’s funny.
Jim Dunlop 9:13
But you know, we still look out for each other and are close. So I’m guessing in your time, at Gettysburg College, you probably got a front row seat to some, and you’ve said that, any stories that are memorable to you that you think about the impact that somebody had by making a gift and by the way, the reason we asked about this is this is a show called The show’s called you can’t take it with you and the idea is that you have your resources and once you’re no longer here what’s the plan if you if you don’t do good things while you’re here, so we’re always excited to inspire people to think about what they can do you know, with the resources, particularly from when they’re in a good place of surplus, but even now.
Janet Riggs 10:06
By the way, when you say that before I get to a story, that was something that I learned to say a lot when I was the president and trying to do some fundraising, I would say to people, you know, it’s wonderful to leave a bequest to Gettysburg College, that’s the opportunity to actually see the impact of your giving. It’s a lot more fun. Yeah, that’s right. And, and these stories, I have two stories, I really like to share with you about two donors, because they illustrate that point, I think, one that really sticks in my mind, related to one of our Gettysburg alumni who had had a debilitating stroke, at a fairly, I mean, not a young age, but he certainly wasn’t elderly. And it robbed him of his ability to speak he could still comprehend language very, very well. I think he could do some reading. But he really couldn’t produce much speech, although facial expressions conveyed a lot. And I really identified with him because my father had a similar stroke. And I remember the same situation with my father. And so when I met with this particular alum, I am always reminded of my father, that he was fairly wealthy due to an inheritance that he had received from his parents. He did not have a family of his own, and he was not married, had no children. It was clear that he had great affection for Gettysburg College. I would go to visit him in New Jersey occasionally. And he was set up so that he had a personal assistant and staff to support him in his home, which was really nice. And he was able to stay in his home. And I just really enjoyed my visits. So at one point, his personal assistant called my office and said that he would like to come visit me at Gettysburg, and I thought, well, that was wonderful. So he and his entourage arrived one afternoon, and they came in and we had a little kind of a small talk. And then he pulled an envelope out of his pocket. He handed it to me. And I wasn’t sure what it was, I said, thank you. And then he signaled it was clear, he wanted me to open it right then. And so I opened the envelope. And he was watching me very carefully, as I did. And inside was his letter stating his intention to make a large gift. And if my memory serves me correctly it was about a million dollars, Gettysburg College in support of student research, some kind to, you know, to be determined. And I was stunned, my mouth literally dropped open. When I read this letter, I was just so surprised. I knew he loved Gettysburg. I knew he had intentions to give Gettysburg some money, but I was not expecting this at all. And he laughed. He just sat there and laughed at my expression; he got such a kick out of doing this. There was such joy, you know, in this gift. And then this gift eventually led to what’s now I think it’s still called the Colby Summer Fellows Program. And it supports students, it’s an endowment that supports students year after year, to provide a stipend for them to do summer research with supervision of a faculty member that has had a tremendous impact on these students. And so after that, each year, I would go and visit him and bring him some information about what the students were doing. And occasionally he would come to students come to campus and hear from the students directly. But he took such joy in being able to do this and seeing the impact of that gift on the student experience. So that’s one anecdote. A similar one.
Jim Dunlop 14:14
Real quick! But I’m wondering, sitting here listening and I could visualize. I mean, I don’t know if this took place in your office or not, because I can picture your office. But, you know, picture the story and I’m trying to decide who was more joyful, him or you. I’m thinking maybe he was even more joyful than you were.
Janet Riggs 14:37
That’s a large kick out of it. I mean, it was sort of this combination, being able to do this and seeing my reaction and he, he just, I just remember him laughing like just thought this was so much fun. And yeah, I was pretty joyful myself. So then along the same lines, we were early in a major fundraising campaign. And one of our trustees who had already been very generous to Gettysburg College came into my office one day. And he said he had a proposition for me. And we had finished building our fitness center. Might as well say his name because it’s going to become obvious, John Jaeger is his name. He had been very involved with planning for the fitness center and had provided a lead gift of more than a million dollars towards the construction of this center. And he talked about how this, you know, as I knew this fitness center was one of his real loves at Gettysburg College. And I said, Yeah, John, I know, and we’re so thankful for your generosity. But he said, you know, I also understand the value of building an endowment. And that is sort of my second passion at Gettysburg College is to build that endowment. So he said, “I have a deal for you. If I make a $5 million commitment to the college’s endowment, do you think we could put my name on the athletic center? But talk about joy? Yeah, I was pretty thrilled. And I said, John, I think we could work that out. And so we just both had a good time talking about that. And he was clearly so happy to be able to do this. So we spent a little more time together. And you know, both of us grinning ear to ear, he left my office to drive home to Maryland and kind of, you know, hop off and around my office. And next thing I know, there’s a knock on the door, he walked back in about 10 minutes later. He said, I’m so excited about this gift, I can’t even leave campus yet. I’m just so excited. I don’t know what to do. And again, it was that joy, of being able to do this, and making that commitment and knowing it would have an impact. And I thought, you know, that’s really what philanthropy is all about. It’s making that impact and taking such joy; such pleasure and being able to do that. And both of those stories, I just thought, illustrated that so well.
Jim Dunlop 17:10
Well, thank you for telling me that story. And in sharing both of them but this last one, it gets me a little bit in a good way in that my, my daughter is a high school junior at Gettysburg High School and their home pool for swim meets is the Gettysburg College pool. And so I walk into that building a lot this time of year to attend. And so I know exactly that it’s John Jaeger’s name. Yeah. And it’s great to have that story. And to know that not only did his gift benefit the students and the faculty and staff at Gettysburg College who can use that fitness center every day, but it also is a benefit to the broader community here. And I personally am grateful for it, because it’s a great pool.
Janet Riggs 17:59
Yes, it is. Yes, it is. And his focus on endowment to go give, you know, he could have decided to give that $5 million towards the building, because we were paying off debt on that. But he just understood that endowment was really higher on the list for Gettysburg College. And so he was willing to do that, which I thought was just tremendous. Yeah, he just set a great example really.
Jim Dunlop 18:23
Yeah. And, you know, it’s so encouraging. You know, when people get that idea that they can’t take it with them and do great things. And just the minute he did it, he was even more excited. And I love to hear that story. And he seems like a really fun guy. So I, this is exciting to me to hear these kinds of things and the amount of joy that people get from giving and encourage people to think about that. As we wrap up our conversation today. Janet, I want to invite people to if they want to get in contact with you, you’ve said that they can reach out to you via email, because you’re here in Gettysburg. And since you’ve retired from Gettysburg College, could you talk a little bit about what you’re doing to fill your time? Obviously, I know you spend a lot of time with all these brand-new grandkids that keep popping out. But beyond that, what have you been doing since you retired?
Janet Riggs 19:28
Yeah, I’m, you know, one of the things that I want to do is travel and I have been able to do a lot of that lately, which has been wonderful, but here in the community. I mean, I’ve tried to be involved in some things that I am passionate about and that I think are important for the community. One of them is I chair the Human Relations Commission which is really focused on preventing discrimination or responding to discrimination in the community and I and I’ve been very pleased to be involved with that effort. Another volunteer effort that I feel very passionate about is my involvement with the Adams County Community Foundation, which you too have joined the board. But that foundation is really all about providing philanthropic support for the community. And about building an endowment to some community going into the future. And through my involvement with that organization, I have learned more about philanthropy in this community than I ever knew. I mean, I’m here all these years, but there was a lot that I didn’t know. And I’ve learned about a lot of nonprofit organizations that really helped make this community go round. And they do that almost entirely through philanthropic support. One of the things that I’m especially proud of is the foundation’s focus on building endowment, which I think it’s really shifted the way a lot of the nonprofit organizations are thinking about support and also the way many local donors are thinking about how they support organizations. And so the idea that they can give to support the present in the present moment, they can also make gifts that together will support these organizations into the future, I think is wonderful. And I think a lot of people just hadn’t thought too much about that before. So I’m just really pleased about that, that focus with the Community Foundation pleased to be a part of that effort.
Jim Dunlop 21:43
And I might add to, if I have this statistic, right, maybe you have it better, because I only learned this recently. But if you take the Adams County Community Foundation and divide that it’s its day of giving, which we call the giving spree into the population, we have the most generous philanthropic effort in the United States per capita, if you take the amount of generosity coming out of this community and spread it across the population. Do I have that? Right?
Janet Riggs 22:12
Yeah, I mean, that’s focused on the giving spree in particular, and day of the year. And I’m not sure this year if we’re at the top of the list, but if we’re not at the top, we’re very close to the top. But yeah, the last couple of years, we have been number one in the country, which really says something about this community, I think, I don’t know, the longer I live here, the more I appreciate, the many things that go on behind the scenes in this community, that really, you know, make it a great place to live.
Jim Dunlop 22:41
Yeah, that’s it. Yeah. And I personally, wasn’t expecting this 20 years ago, or 23 years ago, when I got married, and we ended up settling in Gettysburg. But it’s been a fabulous community to raise my kids in an incredible school system where my kids have gotten a great education. You have the great resources of Gettysburg College here in the community. And, and you have a very generous population for all the, for all the sometimes dark spots in the world. There’s a lot of good to shine through. And you see it a lot here. So if, if any of our listeners would like to be in contact with Janet, they can find her at her email, which is riggs@gettysburg.edu, they let Janet keep her email address in retirement, so you can find her there. So Janet, as we wrap up. We appreciate you being here today to inspire folks around generosity and share that joy that comes from giving. I’ll ask you this, if you had the attention of the whole world for five minutes. Or if I rented a big billboard and said, Janet, put anything on this billboard that you want. What would be the message you’d want to convey?
Janet Riggs 24:05
You know, that’s a tough question, Jim. And I could think of a lot of things to put on that billboard. But here’s what I’m thinking right now. Ask me tomorrow, I might have a different one. Okay. Let’s embrace empathy.
Jim Dunlop 24:23
Oh, I like it.
Janet Riggs 24:25
And I say that for a whole long list of reasons. But I think empathy goes a long way in helping people talk to each other, and understand each other and support each other, you know, whether we’re talking about philanthropy or providing emotional support, but I think we could use more empathy in this world right now.
Jim Dunlop 24:47
I agree. I like it a lot. So, Janet, I want to thank you so much for being with us today.
Janet Riggs 24:55
Thanks for inviting me, Jim.
Jim Dunlop 24:57
And we’ll look forward to talking real soon. Right.
Outro 25:01
Thank you. Thanks for joining us to hear stories of generosity that remind us that you can’t take it with you. Visit our site at canttakeitwithyou.com. For more details on today’s episode, and to subscribe to future shows.
Disclosure 25:21
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