[GEOFF MEARNS]
Today, it is my privilege to welcome another special guest to the latest episode of our Call to Beneficence. Joining me this afternoon is Marianne Glick. Marianne is the chair of the board of the Glick Family Foundation, a foundation that carries on the legacy of her parents, Marilyn and Eugene Glick. Two of our state's most accomplished business leaders and two very generous philanthropists.
Marianne is also an artist and a dedicated servant leader. And over the years she has been actively involved with our university. She is an emeritus member of our Board of Trustees. She is a founding member of our Discovery Women's Group, which supports projects that benefit our faculty and our students. And with her husband, Mike, she provided a lead gift to advance the design and construction of our new Performing Arts Center.
She also invests in scholarships for our students through TeenWorks at BSU, which we'll talk about in our conversation today. We'll also discuss highlights from her career as well as some memories of her parents. But now let me welcome Marianne Glick to the podcast. Welcome Marianne, and thank you for returning to the campus today.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Thanks, Geoff. I'm really happy to be here.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So, as I said in the intro just a moment ago, I'd like to talk a little bit about your upbringing. You were the eldest of four daughters born to your parents, Gene and Marilyn. They built a successful real estate company after World War II in Indianapolis. So please tell us some of what you remember about your childhood and your parents.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
One of my favorite memories of my childhood was being able to go to a construction site with my dad, and he loved that smell of the turned earth. And I just, even at five years old, I remember being really excited when we’d go and do it. And I felt really special that he would take me with him and share the vision of what this housing development would look like.
He focused on housing. Especially for the returning veterans that were coming home at that time and starting families. And so we've always built affordable homes and affordable apartments so that people, regardless of their income level, can afford to live in a lovely place.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And so that continues to be the work that you focus on.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Yes.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So your parents were descendants of some of the earliest Jewish families in Indiana. Was that faith important to your family, and is it important to you now?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Faith was important to my family, especially to my mother. My mother was brought up in a conservative bordering on Orthodox family in Detroit initially. And, we kept kosher when I was a little girl until, like, a maid threw out the third set of dishes. And dad came home and said, okay, we're not doing this anymore. But my mother's father died in temple on Passover when she was ten, and I know his faith was very important to him.
She carried that through, and we went to synagogue almost every Friday night when I was a little girl and went through consecration and confirmation. And I think that Tzedakah, charity, and Tikkun Olam, healing the world, were important principles that we learned very young and saw demonstrated in my parents.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And does that still then ... is that part of who you are and what you do?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
The principles are. I would not call myself a religious person by any stretch of the imagination. I am not particularly fond of organized religion, because I think it divides people. I don't like preaching where it's us and them. That one way is the right way. I don't think we know what the right way is. But I do believe, whether it's Jesus's teachings or anyone's teachings, that you are here to help your fellow man treat your neighbor as you would yourself. And so if we follow those principles and are generous, then I think we are living a good life.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And many of those principles transcend a particular faith tradition.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Correct, yes. The Golden Rule is the golden rule, regardless of what religion you have.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So today you're also a dedicated artist. You enjoy painting. Was this passion for creativity, was that somehow present when you were younger, inspired by your family or as a as a kid?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
We certainly had beautiful things around us, especially when I was a little bit older. I mean, when I was really little, we lived in a 700 square foot house with one bathroom, and we didn't have a lot of paintings on the wall—
[GEOFF MEARNS]
With four kids and—
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Two parents. So no, no, not then, but certainly my mother's interest in art gave me an appreciation for the arts. We did go to theater a lot when I was young. But my fourth grade teacher told me I had absolutely no ability and that I should —my art teacher told me I had no artistic ability, and I did not paint from the time I was nine years old till I was 57.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
But somehow or other, that was that interest or passion survived.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
So, color and beauty and expressing, being able to express yourself in a physical way like that and to create, to create beauty, to create something of emotion that's coming out of you. I think that that was a part of me.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Okay. So let's talk a little bit about your education. You attended boarding school and then Butler University. You earned two degrees at Butler. A bachelor's in elementary education and a master's in educational psychology. But you've spoken on other occasions publicly about how college was a bit of a struggle for you. Do you mind sharing a little bit of that with us?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Sure. My freshman year, my parents sent me to Stephens College, which was an all girls school, very structured back in what was it, 1967, pretty structured girl school. And they had rigid regulations. And I'm not someone who does well with rigid regulations. And so, I did a lot of partying, and I finished my freshman year with a 1.2 grade point average.
Although they didn't kick me out for that. I did take off at the beginning of my sophomore year to go visit my boyfriend in Boston, and my dad came and brought me back to school, and they told me that I was going to be grounded for six weeks. And I said, well, you know, that's not going to work for me.
And they said, well, you've got the choice to either not leave campus or you can leave and not come back. And I chose to leave and not come back. So it was rocky. And, luckily I was able to about a year later, after I had gone out and worked and decided that I wanted more than the jobs that I could get with a high school education, I came back to Indianapolis and went to Marion for a year. I don't know whose strings Dad pulled to get me in there. And then I transferred to Butler and was happy then at Butler.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And does that experience—your own personal experience—also inform now how you approach supporting students in high school and students in college?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Certainly. I figure if I had difficulty and I had parents that were paying for my college and that valued education and pushed me to go to college, if I struggled, think of the children who don't have parents that have been to college before, that didn't encourage them to go, that have experienced a lot of hardships in their life, and they go and they don't have that support system. What are they going to do?
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So we're going to talk a little bit more about how your philanthropy helps provide that support system, as well as some financial support. But before I get to those questions, I understand that one of your first jobs, you know in college, you worked for your father in the family real estate business. So tell us about that experience in contrast to the five year old girl who just enjoyed the smell of dirt.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
So, while I was in college, it was at a time when our family was really building—had just started building apartments—and we were building them at a very rapid rate. This was when affordable housing, subsidized housing, first became available. So I remember sitting in the construction trailer doing rent ups from a construction trailer while the property was being built. And it was a thrill. Renting up and renting up a community is really exciting. And you get an opportunity to get to know the residents very well. They're excited about their, generally their first apartment, and their first home. And you're helping them achieve that dream.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So you even then you were helping, as you say, helping somebody achieve a dream. That first step to a fulfilling life. Your father was committed to supporting historically underserved young people in Indiana. And my understanding, in 1981, he created a program, the Pro-100 program, which has evolved into TeenWorks. Tell us more about that original program—tell us more about how it evolved into TeenWorks and how you became involved in the leadership and support of that program.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Sure. My father started a program for 100 youth, generally underserved youth, here in Indianapolis, to provide that first work experience for them, to help teach them a work ethic and to give them skills that they could use going forward in their life.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And when you say—sorry to interrupt—when you say youth, it was high school students?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
It was high school, yes. High school students. So, not younger than 14, but they were starting freshman through seniors. And they worked initially on public golf courses and learned not only to do beautification projects on the golf courses, but also to caddy. And I've talked to some of the students who are now adults who participated in that program, and they said the caddying gave them the opportunity to network with high net worth individuals, and that that really helped them in their careers.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah, because they probably, in other experiences, didn't have a chance to have a conversation with a successful 45-year-old businessman. [MARIANNE: Correct] or businesswoman.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Yes. So when my father became ill, I got more involved in the program. Children's Bureau was running the program for us at that time, and we had, it had dwindled to about 70 students, and we were no longer on city golf courses. And so I felt that the program was really helpful to the students, but we needed to do more, and we needed to be our own not for profit so that we could raise money not just from Glick, but for others to be able to scale the program. And so in 2016, we started TeenWorks. We rebranded because literally other than me and a few other people who were around and knew that it had been working with golf pros on golf courses, and there had been 100 students in one city. No one else could explain what Pro 100 was, where TeenWorks really explains what we do.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
The name—
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Teens working. And so, now we have a summer program in Indianapolis, Muncie, Anderson, Fort Wayne, and we will start this summer in South Bend. And we have not only a summer program that provides direct work experience, but we have a year-round program for the students, with them on a monthly basis to give them additional professional development skills to help them do career planning.
And then we have alumni services that follows them on into college and makes sure that they're successful. So 100% of our students complete high school, 80% of our students are going on to college, and of those, over 70% are completing and completing on time.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
It's remarkable statistics. One more statistic, if you don't mind sharing, given now the scale of this program in high schools on an annual year of high school. How many students are in TeenWorks in high school in any given year? Just approximately.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
650.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And so 80% of those are going to college, and 70% of them. Remarkable.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Yeah.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So part of the success of those college graduation rates is that because you have partnerships with TeenWorks at higher education institutions, including Ball State. Tell us how that program applies to a Ball State student.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
We have staff here at Ball State who provide wraparound services for our students. So counseling on academic areas as well as counseling in personal areas and providing activities to further engage them in campus life, as well as getting better acquainted with each other. So, we also provide scholarship money and barrier busting funds, if students run into challenges.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
What’s a barrier busting fund?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
So, if you don't have enough money for books, and it's really critical that you have your school books on day one, so if a student, maybe they had enough in in loans or in government support that they could pay their tuition and their room and board. But the scholarships don't generally pay for books, so we would provide money for books if they don't have a computer, we'd get a computer. If they got a flat tire and weren't able to drive to their job, we would provide money for to fix their car.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Right. So we often hear talk about, you know, people often think about I want to make a contribution to support scholarships. And certainly that's very important. They help us to recruit and retain students. But what you just described is we refer to that pillar of our campaign as student financial support, because sometimes that relatively small amount of money can be the difference between staying in school and completing or dropping out and maybe never coming back to complete.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Well, and many of these first gen students are low income and their families don't have the money, and they don't have the money for something that you and I might consider not a very expensive expense. And it really makes an enormous difference. Two hundred and fifty or $500 can make a big difference and mean the difference between staying in school and dropping out.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. And we know from data, and this is not just our institution, but it's true at institutions all across the country, if a student stops out, even for a short period of time, even with the full intention of solving that short term problem, the likelihood that they will ever return and complete drops quite significantly. Yeah, well, we're grateful to your philanthropic investment and team works at Ball State. So it's making a big difference.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Thank you.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And so let's go back a little bit to your personal career. In 1986 you founded Glick Training Associates. And that's a firm that you led for more than 25 years. Tell us about that work.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
It was wonderful work. I would work with a lot of different companies doing management and supervisory skills training. So most often working with first time managers and first time supervisors. So going from doing the work yourself to getting work done with and through others, so communication skills, basic people, reading skills, delegating those kinds of things would be what I would work with companies on.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So it related a little bit to TeenWorks, because that same kind of professional—
[MARIANNE GLICK]
It's all professional development and helping people do the best they can at their job.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So I want to backtrack a little bit. You know, we mentioned TeenWorks and other philanthropy that you're involved in. Did that come from watching your parents? Were they not just service oriented but philanthropically committed to civic organizations? In Indianapolis, in the state? And did watching them help motivate you, inspire you?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Certainly. Well, certainly with teamwork. Since my dad had started Pro 100, I mean, that I, I do feel that I'm carrying on a legacy in that area and really proud and thrilled to be able to do it and have helped that grow. Both of my parents certainly were involved in a number of things in the community and whatever organization they were involved in, they were very dedicated. So yes, I had great examples saying, community service is something important to do.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So speaking of that role model, that inspiration, you are presently the chair of the board of directors of the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Family Foundation. Tell us about that foundation, what it's focus. What is the impact that it's having on Indianapolis and the state of Indiana?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
The mission of our foundation is to build community and create opportunity. And our three core values are integrity, compassion, and equity. We do this in a number of areas. The arts, education and economic mobility, basic needs, healthy democracy, and Jewish causes. So those are pretty broad areas. It gives us a lot of flexibility. And we also have a housing foundation, which we now have 9000 apartment units in our housing foundation and are able to provide additional supports to our residents, through our service coordinators and also coordinating with community partners.
What we try to do is make sure that we are providing opportunities and access for people who might not otherwise have access to whatever it is, whether it's arts in your school and maybe you don't have art at your school. So we're trying to provide opportunities where children can experience the arts, or economic mobility. We partner with a number of organizations to help people with career choices.
So I'd say we have a very broad range. We just got done with a retreat. We're working on our next strategic plan and are looking at defining more clearly what our North Star is—what is it, and who specifically, when we have the really greatest impact on, we can't be everything to everybody. And what is it that's unique about the Glick Foundation?
And I do think perhaps the secret sauce is that we are also experts in affordable housing. And so, helping the people who need affordable housing and, not only providing the housing but providing wraparound services for them is where we're leaning.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So, and what you touched on is what I've learned now, engaging with philanthropists like you is you see those that gifts not simply as charity, but you want to ensure that there's a return on that investment. [MARIANNE: Yes.] in terms of its impact on people—different different return on investment.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Not monetary, but the impact on people's lives. Absolutely. Yes.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So speaking of that impact and speaking of those core values, the empathy that you mentioned. Last month, you received the Martin Luther King Jr Freedom Award from the Indianapolis Recorder. It was at that publication's annual Champions of Impact gala. A couple of questions. I wasn't there that evening but have had a chance to see the video of you receiving that award.
What did receiving that award mean to you? And can you just share with the folks who are listening, just the gist of what you said during your acceptance speech. It was a speech that I've seen, and you earned a standing ovation from the people who attended that that program that evening.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Well, thank you. I think people use the word humble maybe too much, but I will say that I was really touched to have received an award, there are very few people that have fought as hard for freedom, for freedom for everyone as a Dr. King did. And so to be even mentioned in the same sentences is quite an honor.
And I think my message was that, especially now, when we are experiencing discord and separation of people based on a variety of things—that this person, because of X, Y, or Z is the other—that that is not healthy for our country, and that each of us can do something every day, even if it's just one thing for one person, one kindness to one person. Instead of saying something nasty, reach out your hand and help someone. We can all do that. And I would say that's the sum of my message.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
It's a simple act of showing grace right to other people, irrespective of their background or perspective.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Correct.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So in addition to serving on the board of your family's foundation, you've volunteered your time to so many other boards from the Central Indiana Community Foundation to the United Way. You served on the Ball State University Board of Trustees. I understand you were appointed in 2005. Tell us a little bit—you're not a Ball State graduate—tell us a little bit about that opportunity. Why did you accept the opportunity to serve on our board? And what do you recall about that experience?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
The reason I agreed to serve on the board, number one, when Mitch Daniels asked me, and I like Mitch. But beyond that, in my business, I had hired students, graduates from a number of schools, the only ones who could actually do what they said they could do were the graduates from Ball State. And it was primarily from your organizational development. That was the area where I would hire people and they could write training material, they could deliver training material. They were amazing. And so, I was so impressed with the students. And then I had the opportunity. I actually did some training at the Foundation, and I enjoyed meeting those people and being on campus doing that training.
I saw students walking and talking with faculty like they were friends, which I found really refreshing. So I thought, there's something different about Ball State. Everybody else in my family went to IU, and I saw kids that really were connecting with their professors. They had a great relationship. People were smiling and chatting on campus. You had some secret sauce.
And then I had met Joann Gora, who she and I hit it off, and I'm sure she must have mentioned my name to Governor Daniels. And I was really happy to take that appointment. And I loved serving as a trustee.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. And, Joann, as you know, talk about an impactful president and woman. But going back to what you said, you know, the way I describe the relationship between our faculty and staff and our students is it's not a hierarchical relationship. What I, what we aspire to do when we do it well is our faculty and students are learning partners. And so our students, of course, are learning from the relationships in classrooms and laboratories with faculty. But also our faculty are growing in terms of their own professional development by seeing the students as helping to inspire or, you know, enhance their experience.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Yes. And I've certainly witnessed that. I would use Bill Jenkins as a wonderful example. And the joy that he gets from working with the students and vice versa. They love working with him. It's really wonderful to watch.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And if you've watched Bill Jenkins, Michael Rafter, Johnna Tavianini. And yes, you understand that that partnership exists, but they are not coddling those students.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
No, no, they're very direct, which is what they need.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
With high expectations.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Yes.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And students respond to that. Young people respond to that. So around the same time you became a Ball State trustee, you decided to create Glick Art, which is an online art gallery. It's on your website. What prompted you to do that?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
So Mike and I had not been married very long at that time, and, um, we had decided to upgrade from posters in the house to, you know, we've got a nice house, now we ought to put some art in there. So I was like, ordering stuff on eBay like crazy, waking up at 2 o’clock in the morning to place that last bid.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So Mike would wake up at 6 a.m. and wonder what was coming in the next crate.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
And there were—and his daughters had all just gotten out and moved into apartments. So I was buying stuff for them for me. So I think he felt I was getting a little obsessive. He goes, do you think you might be able to do some of this? Have you ever thought about painting? And I thought, maybe I would try that because I would get, I have seasonal affective disorder and I would get depressed in the wintertime. And I thought, well, maybe this would be a good thing to do in the winter when I'm not gardening. So I started taking classes in 2005 and, really enjoyed it. And so I've kept it up.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So speaking of art and your passion for art. While you were on the Board, I think this is around 2008. Your mother provided the lead gift to create Ball State’s Marilyn Kay Glick Center for Glass. Tell us about your mother's passion for glass art and some of your memories from the day that that center opened—a special day for you and your mother?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
My mother loved collecting glass art. She started in the 1980s collecting glass art, and she worked with the glass curator at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Traveled all over the world and met many of the original studio glass artists, including Dale Chihuly, who came to our house. And at the time that we created that center, actually IU was trying to get us to do one at Herron at the time, on that campus. And I said, well, you know, I'm a trustee at Ball State. And that's where glass started here in Indiana. We’ve got the Ball brothers right here. And there wasn't a glass opportunity—a place where you could blow and develop glass—here. And so I must have been convincing enough. She really wanted to have a glass center to encourage students to go into that. So that's what we did.
The glass center opened about a year before my mother passed away. And I was so happy that she could be here that day. She had the biggest smile on her face. And I had commissioned a glass piece with her face on it that is at the entrance to the Marilyn Kay Glick Center.
And so that was the first time she'd seen that. It was just a joyful day. It's a beautiful, beautiful facility. And I'm so pleased that so many people, not only the students, but people in the community, have access to this lovely facility.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
And through her charity, and your support, there are programs now that are available to the public, not just our students, but others. So anybody who's listening, if you haven't been in the Glick Center for Glass, please come. It is a place where glass art is made, but also there's some glass art exhibit. It's not a gallery. It is a working studio. And it's a wonderful resource for our campus and for the broader community. So speaking of charity, I'm going to come back to you a little bit. Again, as we've talked about helping underrepresented students get access to higher education, and then persist and graduate, is very important to you. You and your husband, Mike, you recently made a major gift to your alma mater, to Butler, to help launch their Founders College. Tell the folks a little bit about what is happening at Founders College.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
They have a fabulous dean, Carolyn Gentle-Genitty. And she's from Belize. She is the warmest, kindest, most enthusiastic person supporting these students. They have wonderful staff that they've got together. All of these students are from underserved communities here in Indianapolis. Well, in Indianapolis, it is a commuter school. There is not currently housing, but it only costs the students $5000 a year. And for almost all of them, that's covered by grants. So they should not have any out-of-pocket. It was important to Mike and me, as I've said earlier, making sure that everyone has access. And students that face a lot of challenges. And these kids are facing a lot of challenges, being able to go to school and to have the education that Butler provides and access to all of the activities on that campus, I think is a really wonderful opportunity for them. I think they're knocking it out of the park.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
That's great. So again, now, speaking of your own philanthropy, you and Mike also gave a lead gift to advancing the design and construction of our new Performing Arts Center. What—and today, I understand you actually got a tour of the construction site. It's pretty exciting. We're about six months, maybe seven months, away. What prompted you to support that project and to also support the students and the faculty in our Department of Theatre and Dance?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
I think the Department of Theatre and Dance here at Ball State is amazing, wonderful. Having seen the students perform at the cabaret. So, as you know, the cabaret is one of Mike's and my favorite activities, and getting to see the kids perform there, I been really impressed with the quality of the talent. Coming on campus and seeing where they have to practice? We knew that they needed better facilities and to really be a top quality attraction to students, to the top students in that area, you needed a better facility. So that's why we wanted to support them.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
So what did you think when you walked through the construction?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Well, I think it's going to be gorgeous. It's just breathtaking. Even with all the dirt, it was breathtaking.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
The dirt and the dust itself. Well, again, thank you so much for you and Mike for your generous support. It's going to be a wonderful facility and a great impact not just on our campus—
[MARIANNE GLICK]
But the whole community. Yes.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Yeah. So I want to end the conversation. This is if you've listened to the podcast, you know this is a question that I ask all of the guests, and it's about beneficence. You know, we walked over this afternoon, walked by Beneficence. You talked a little bit earlier about the importance of values. It's in my estimation, it's the tangible representation of the enduring values that makes Ball State University distinctive. And beneficence, as you know, means doing good, as we talked about earlier, for other people through your service and through philanthropy. So, Marianne, what does beneficence mean to you?
[MARIANNE GLICK]
I think it means reaching out your hand and doing whatever you can, with whatever means you have, to help another person and other people. That's it.
[GEOFF MEARNS]
Marianne, again, thank you for joining me today. Thank you for what you do for the students, faculty, and staff here at Ball State and for what you do for young people across the entire state of Indiana. Thank you.
[MARIANNE GLICK]
Thank you for giving me the opportunity.