When an appeal was made to St. Ambrose faculty and staff to contribute to the Building Our Future campaign, it wasn't difficult for John Byrne, PhD, professor and chair of the Marketing Studies Department, to go the extra mile.
Last spring, Byrne joined with 170 fellow St. Ambrose employees who pledged more than $270,000 in support of the new Wellness and Recreation Center.
"I would support any priority project for this university," said Byrne, a fitness-focused father of five who firmly understands the college student's need for modern wellness and recreation facilities. "But this one lines up with some of my life interests and it is something we desperately need here.
"I really think college is about developing great life habits," he added. "That's in the classroom, and it's also in the gymnasium."
Besides, what's an extra mile to someone scheduled to run 100 miles at two miles above sea level in the up-and-down terrain of the Colorado Rocky Mountains in August?
Since this past fall, Byrne has been training to run his third Leadville 100, also known as "The Race Across the Sky," in the company of SAU alumni Rick Fountain '92 and Curt Johnston '98, among others.
In 2005, Byrne finished his first Leadville run with 137 seconds of the allotted 30-hour time limit to spare.
He committed to keeping a dedicated workout regimen in the aftermath, and, in 2012, shaved more than 2 ½ hours from his finishing time. Byrne's goal in August is to finish in 24 hours.
"And I'm confident I can do it," he said.
He is equally confident the new Wellness and Recreation Center will significantly enhance campus culture and help develop graduates intent on enriching lives.
"We make the world a better place by transforming the lives of young adults and giving them that lift to go out and do amazing and powerful things," he said. "The better the environment we can create here for those students, the bigger the impact we will have for years to come."
Byrne is not alone in thinking that way. Margaret Babbitt, director of annual giving at St. Ambrose, said that is evidenced by the swift and resounding response to the campaign appeal to SAU employees. The campaign exceeded its goal, and in barely more than a month's time.
"Our faculty and staff members 'got it,'" Babbitt said. "People understood why this is important to the university and to current and future students. What really surprised us was how widespread the support was. At every level, faculty and staff stepped up and that was a really, really gratifying experience."
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