Alumni create fund to honor mentor and take advantage of tax savings by using their IRA to make the gift
Karen and Tom Guter met over fifty years ago while both were students at UMaine. They later worked together in Fogler Library, as students, for Dr. James C. MacCampbell (Dr. Mac).
Dr. Mac served as the Head Librarian at UMaine from 1962-1982. He saw the library as “obviously, its center of learning.” During his tenure as head librarian, Dr. Mac oversaw dramatic changes to Fogler Library including the expansion of the building, the establishment of the special collections department, the initiation of Fogler as a regional government documents depository, the development of a master’s program in library science, and more.
To Tom and Karen, as well as to many other UMaine students, Dr. Mac was, more importantly, a mentor and a friend. Dr. Mac’s guidance changed their career paths and their lives.
Karen came to UMaine to study history and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1971. Under Dr. Mac’s tutelage, Karen obtained a master’s degree in library science at UMaine. She went on to become an award-winning school librarian for more than 30 years. She chaired the Maine Student Book Award Committee and was part of the Simmons College Children’s Literature Institute.
Although Tom majored in education at UMaine, he was also a beneficiary of Dr. Mac’s encouragement and guidance. Dr. Mac recognized Tom’s supervisory abilities right away and put him in charge of the library’s night shift as a junior. Tom pursued a master’s degree in public administration and, later, a career in management including serving as a Vice President of Claims Administration at Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Maine and as Director of Human Resources for the Town of Scarborough.
The Guter’s wanted a way to recognize Dr. Mac and help UMaine at the same time. In 2022, they created an endowed fund in his honor at the University of Maine Foundation. The Dr. James C. MacCampbell Memorial Fund, will provide support for the Fogler Library for the procurement of resources.
The Guter’s made their gift using a distribution from an IRA. Qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs are a very tax-savvy way to make gifts for individuals who are 70 1/2 and older. These distributions can count toward a required minimum distribution (RMD) and can be excluded from taxable income. This can be especially helpful if you don’t itemize deductions when filing your income taxes. You can learn more about qualified charitable distributions on the IRS website at bit.ly/3INNa4W.
If you would like to make a gift in honor of Dr. Mac to grow this fund further, you can do so by making a gift to the fund online at our.umaine.edu/drmac.
You can learn more about making gifts using an IRA, both during your lifetime and in your estate plans, by going to our website at umainefoundation.org/types-of-
Sharing
