Alumna and Staffer Makes Retirement Gift to Help Teachers

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Polly McMullen ’68 has a special relationship with USF. An alumna of the San Francisco College for Women, which later became Lone Mountain College, before being acquired by USF in 1978, McMullen reflects on her time as a student and her 15-year career on the hilltop.

“I did not realize what a pivotal time it was. I loved my friends, classes, and faculty, but being in San Francisco, which was the center of activism in the mid-1960s, shaped my values and priorities for the rest of my life,” says McMullen.

McMullen, originally from Nebraska, returned to her home state after marrying Bruce McMullen, a physician. Together, they raised their two children, while Polly raised money for a number of organizations until his untimely passing at 55. McMullen returned to San Francisco in early 2008 just in time to help plan her 40th-year reunion. Her organizational skills made such an impression that Annette Anton, the head of Alumni Engagement contacted McMullen and offered her a job.

The rest is history. Millions in USF scholarship, faculty, and program funds raised, but McMullen credits fundraising for the Lone Mountain Alumnae Legacy Sacred Heart Endowed Scholarship, a fund first suggested by Fr. John Lo Schiavo to honor the Religious of the Sacred Heart, as her greatest reward. To date, 320 students have received awards from this scholarship.

McMullen said, “Teachers are some of the most important people in our world. Teaching is a difficult job, and teachers are not rewarded financially. Our scholarship helps current educators earn their graduate degrees at USF.”

USF School of Education’s Dean Shabnam Koirala Azad said, “As a school that seeks to make a significant and collective impact on the field of education, this scholarship has enabled the training, preparation, and placement of educators, leaders, and advocates in schools and communities directly impacting the lives of children and youth.

With Polly's careful stewardship of the scholarship and the conviction of the Lone Mountain Alumnae Board to increase the scholarship amounts, this impact has only increased and intensified at an urgent time of need for schools and society. I couldn't be more grateful for this support.”

McMullen continues to give to the Lone Mountain Alumnae Legacy Sacred Heart Endowed Scholarship and recently began giving through a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from her retirement account.

“It was a pretty easy decision because of the required minimum distribution (RMD) and the QCD allows gifts up to $105,000 before your RMD is taxed. This is kind of a no-brainer and is the best way to make a gift,” explains McMullen.

McMullen also used her IRA to create a charitable gift annuity (CGA) at USF. “The gift annuity, which makes fixed payments to me quarterly and the remainder will go to the scholarship after my lifetime, was not the reason I made this gift. It was the vehicle that allowed me to make the gift I wanted to make. I want to see the Lone Mountain Alumnae Legacy Sacred Heart Scholarship continue to grow to support more teachers as a legacy to my college, the legacy of the Sacred Heart, and USF.”

For Polly McMullen, giving to scholarships at USF has been a powerful way to invest in the future, making a lasting impact on both individual students and the communities they will serve.

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