After decades of faithfully serving on the Hillsdale College Board of Trustees as both a member and its chairman, Bill Brodbeck ’66 is stepping down to retire.
His wisdom and guidance led the college through tumultuous events and years of success, and his influential work will never be forgotten.
Mr. Brodbeck has helped shape the character of the college, but he has also impacted the individual lives of students. Many of us know him from classes he and his wife, Janet, audited, and we learned from his helpful insight.
Senior Emma McCormick lives across the street from the Brodbecks, and was often a dinner guest in their home. Mr. Brodbeck is “incredibly kind, thoughtful, and intelligent,” eager to serve those around him and learn from others, despite his many years of education and experience.
“Mr. Brodbeck truly loves Hillsdale College, and learning about all he has done for the school — even before many students were born — is an encouraging reminder that there are a few exceptional, quality people in this world, and we are privileged to be able to studying a place where many of them together,” she said.
As an alumnus, he sets an example for Hillsdale College graduates with his commitment to the college and its values, his industriousness, and his humility.
His kindness and dedication to truth mirror the principles Hillsdale was built on. The college’s first chairman of the board, Edmund Fairfield, prayed on July 4, 1853 that “the walls reared upon this foundation stand for ages to come, sacred as well to freedom, humanity, philanthropy, and true patriotism, as to sound science, pure morality, and true religion.”
Thanks to Mr. Brodbeck, Fairfield’s prayer remains answered. Hillsdale’s walls stand tall and its students remain committed to the pursuit of noble things.
Mr. Brodbeck leaves a legacy that will not be easily matched, and we will miss him. Thank you, Mr. Brodbeck.