Jack of All Trades, Master of Giving Back
By Danny Lamere
William “Bill” McQuinn ’56 (left), a devoted husband, father and Bryant University alumnus, established an endowed scholarship at the University through a bequest in his will.
For William “Bill” McQuinn ’56, success was never a given. That’s why he felt so strongly about the power of philanthropy to change lives.
When he passed away in November 2022, Bill made a gift to Bryant University through his will to establish the William P. McQuinn ’56 Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which will be awarded in perpetuity to a student studying accounting.
“He never wanted finances to be the reason someone couldn’t reach their potential,” says his daughter, Kathryn Ryan. “With this scholarship, hopefully someone else will have the same opportunity that he had to make something of themselves.”
Born to Irish immigrants in the 1930s in Connecticut amid the Great Depression, Bill had a modest upbringing. When a nun from his Catholic high school reached out to his parents to tell them Bill should consider college, everything changed.
“It was the exception for kids from their neighborhood to go to college,” says Kathryn, “but you listened to the nuns and did what they said.” Bill enrolled at Bryant University, and his father took on a second job to help pay the tuition. His younger sister went straight to work after she finished high school and began sending Bill part of her paychecks for spending money. “He and my aunt would both say they had enough money, but they didn’t have extra money,” says Kathryn. “His family pulled it together and supported him.”
Bill finished his Bryant University education in just two and a half years and began studying for the certified professional accountant exam, which he passed on his first attempt. He was among the youngest in Connecticut history to ever pass the exam, a fact that filled him with pride for the rest of his life. “He was always proud that what he learned at Bryant University set him up for success,” says Kathryn. “Bryant University held a very special place for him.”
Kathryn says her father helped foster a tight-knit family as she and her three sisters grew up, taking the family for camping trips on Columbus Day weekend, sailing in Long Island Sound and Narragansett Bay and skiing in Vermont. “Family was definitely first and foremost for him,” she says. “We spent all the time together that we could.”
He had many professional interests, and he pursued a varied career path. “He worked as a public accountant for a while, but he also worked as a financial executive, in the steel industry, aeronautical industry, furniture business and appliance companies,” recalls Kathryn. “Every so often, he would just need to shake it up.”
A voracious reader, Bill consumed information from all sources, earning a reputation as something of a jack of all trades. “My father knew more about all subjects than anyone else he knew — including the subjects he knew nothing about,” Kathryn jokes.
Even though each of Bill’s four daughters pursued careers in education — three, including Kathryn, went into public school education and one is now an associate dean at Yale University — their father always believed in the power of a business education. “He always appreciated how students, when they left Bryant University, had a skill that they could start a career with,” says Kathryn. “This scholarship is a way for him to help someone else acquire those skills and become the best.”
You can make an impact at Bryant University by creating your own legacy. Simply contact Bob Ferrell at 401-232-6171 or rferrell@bryant.edu to find out more.
