Donor Spotlight: David F. Prindable
Expanding Opportunities for Undergraduate Students
In the early 2000s, David F. Prindable (’69 BUS) was meeting with the University of Illinois Foundation to discuss a gift to the School of Business, when he inquired what other areas of campus could use support. “I’ve always had a deep, lifelong interest in the humanities,” he said, and in that meeting he was connected to the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities (now the Humanities Research Institute or HRI), then a fledgling interdisciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Prindable met with then-IPRH director, Matti Bunzl, and was impressed with the program. “At the time, Matti’s focus was on graduate students,” Prindable said. And so his first gift in 2002 was in support of an expansion of efforts for undergraduates.
Director Antoinette Burton at year-end reception.
“That was a really important aspect of my decision,” Prindable said. “I wanted to help widen the scope to make these important programs and resources available to undergraduate students.”
In 2015, Prindable furthered his commitment by establishing an internship fund for undergraduate humanities students, a program that continues to flourish today. This fall, HRI hired its tenth Prindable Intern in Communications and Outreach.
Through hands-on projects, Prindable interns learn about how communication contributes to the institute’s operations and the development of a strong humanities community. Over the years, they have run surveys and focus groups, helped with event promotions, written stories and social media posts, and led outreach efforts to publicize opportunities with their peers.
Prindable has always felt strongly about supporting the humanities, but in looking at the current national landscape he sees a new urgency. “There are warning signals, like West Virginia University slashing foreign language programs that they felt they can’t afford to keep,” he said. “There is a significant and ongoing drift towards STEM, computer science, and the like. When a school begins to drop its humanities programs, I think it can no longer be considered a selective or prestigious university.”
Prindable continues to expand upon his generous support of HRI with his most recent pledge to the Odyssey Project, a program administered by HRI that offers free U. of I. courses in the humanities to low-income adults in the East Central Illinois community. These are non-traditional undergraduates, many of whom are navigating multiple challenges in their higher education journey—and many who will go on to further their education or career goals.
He sees institutes like HRI as essential not just to humanists but also to people in STEM, who otherwise may not have exposure to humanities perspectives and knowledge in their own classrooms. “I think we fall short of our peer institutions in the balance of support between the humanities and STEM,” he said, “and I want to be a part of remedying that.”
Indeed, he has included HRI in his legacy giving plans, which helps to ensure a bright future for its work. “David Prindable has been a consistent champion of the humanities and a cherished supporter of HRI,” said HRI Director Antoinette Burton. “He embodies the true power of the humanities at work in the world, and we are so grateful he is in our corner.”