John C. Schroeder ’69 was inducted Monday to The Indiana Academy at its ninth annual dinner at Indianapolis. Schroeder joined five others honored for lifetime achievement and contributes to the cultural, scientific, literary, civic, religious, and education development of Indiana.
Schroeder was elected to Wabash’s Board of Trustees in 1992 and has long helped College admissions’ staff help recruit young men to Wabash College. His family name is well known on campus for the Schroeder Career Center.
After graduating with a degree in economics from Wabash, he earned his MBA from Indiana University. He is president and CEO of Wabash Plastics, Inc. and Crescent Plastics, of Evansville. The companies were founded by John’s father and grandfather in 1949. John H. Schroeder is a 1942 Wabash graduate. Scott Schroeder ’99 represents the third generation in the family-owned and Evansville based business.
Besides serving the Wabash Board of Trustees, Schroeder joined the University of Evansville Board of Trustees in 1990. He was chairman of that board from 2005-2008.
John serves on several volunteer boards in the Evansville area. These include the Evansville Regional Business Committee, the Signature School Foundation Board, the Evansville Rehabilitation Center Board, Keep Evansville Beautiful, and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation Superintendent’s Business Council.
He currently serves on the board of Anchor Industries in Evansville and the Louisville Branch of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Board.
John and his wife Diane (Butler ’71) have three children and one grandchild. His son Scott is a third generation graduate of Wabash College.
Modeled after The French Academy, The Indiana Academy was established in 1970 by the Independent Colleges of Indiana to further the development of public service, higher education, the arts and sciences, literature, and the general culture of the state through the recognition of individual leadership, achievement, and philanthropy designed to promote these ends. While supported by many over the years, the inspiration and driving force for The Indiana Academy was Indianapolis attorney and civic leader Kurt Pantzer, president of The Academy from 1971 to 1977.
A complete listing of Academy members may be found at http://www.icindiana.org/giving/academy.asp. The program of The Indiana Academy is maintained through the support of the Tony and Mary Fendrich Hulman Endowment Fund and donations from members of The Academy.
Other 2009 inductees:
Keith E. Busse (Fort Wayne), founder, former president and CEO, and current chairman and CEO of Steel Dynamics, Inc., member of the board of the University of Saint Francis and Trine"
Louis E. Gerig (Indianapolis), president of Sease, Gerig & Associates, one of the city’s leading public relations firms; former member of President Reagan’s administration and a former press secretary to U.S. Senator Richard G. Lugar; longtime member and chair of the Anderson University Board of Trustees and the school’s "Outstanding Alumnus" in 1981.
F. Joseph Loughrey (Columbus), recently retired longtime executive with Cummins Inc., serving as vice chairman, president and COO, and member of its board of directors and foundation board; leading advanced manufacturing proponent and trustee of The Manufacturing Institute and chairman of Conexus Indiana; University of Notre Dame alumnus and vice chair of its Advisory Council to the Colleges of Arts & Letters.
Ralph D. Trine (Angola), chairman and CEO of Vestil Manufacturing Corporation, specializing in the automotive and material handling equipment industries, pediatric equipment for physically disabled children, and ergonomic solutions; ardent supporter and board member of Trine University (formerly Tri-State.
Andrew Steffen (Indianapolis), posthumous induction, attorney with McHale, Cook and Welch (now Bingham McHale) until his retirement, as well as former senior vice president at Ameritech’s corporate headquarters in Chicago; as well as elected lifetime board member of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; and alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and creator of a major endowed scholarship fund at Marian College.