When Robert D. Walter walked past his old fraternity house and saw it in a state of disrepair, he decided to buy it.
“There was a need, so I pursued buying the house,” Robert said. “… It was really my idea, because frankly the university probably couldn’t go and force somebody out of a house. Politically, it wouldn’t have been attractive.”
The old Sigma Chi fraternity house, located next to Baker University Center at 15 Park Place, is now the newly renovated Walter International Education Center. Robert and his wife Margaret “Peggy” M. Walter donated $2 million for the purchase and renovation of the building in 2008.
Robert and Peggy both graduated from OU in 1967 and married that June. They met at an eighth-grade basketball game and began dating when Peggy transferred to OU during her sophomore year.
“I really didn’t follow (Robert) down here; I had a brother here. That’s why I transferred,” said Peggy, who worked as a speech therapist after graduating from OU.
The Walters now have three sons, three daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren, Peggy said.
After graduating from OU with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Robert attended Harvard Business School and went on to found Cardinal Health, which is now an international health care services company, in 1971.
Since first donating to the university in 1988, the Walters have given more than $17 million to fund scholarships, the construction of Margaret M. Walter Hall, the Robert D. Walter Center for Strategic Leadership in the College of Business and the creation of the Walter International Education Center. Most recently, in December, the Walters committed to giving OU $10 million to build a multipurpose center.
Robert also served on OU’s Board of Trustees from 1997 to 2005 and headed the committee to hire current OU President Roderick McDavis.
"We feel like we need to give back; we’ve been really blessed,” Robert said.
OU faculty, administrators and students thanked the Walters during the grand opening ceremony of the Walter International Education Center Saturday.
“There are few days in the life of a university that stand out. … Today is one of those days when we have a special opportunity to celebrate,” McDavis said.
The Walter International Education Center houses the Office of Education Abroad, the Office of International Student and Faculty Services and student meeting space. The grand opening of the center kicked off International Week at OU, but the building has been open since early March.
Although the Walters had the idea to purchase and donate the building to the university, OU officials were the ones who identified the need for an international center.
“We sat down and decided with the university what would be the best use for this property,” Robert said. “We decided to give the money, then the university said, ‘Here’s our priority.’”
The renovation and purchase of the building cost a total of $3.14 million. OU paid for $1.14 million of the project with funding set aside by the provost’s office as well as utility savings from last year’s budget.
“(OU) really has been so important to us and … it’s our pleasure to give back to the university,” Robert said during a speech at the center’s
opening ceremony.
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