Investing in Pace, Investing in New York

Education was always at the forefront of E. Virgil Conway’s mind. He graduated high school as valedictorian and then received scholarships to attend Colgate University, where he graduated magna cum laude, and Yale University Law School, where he graduated cum laude.

This impressive pedigree jump-started a distinguished career. After serving in the Air Force, Virgil served as the chairman and chief executive officer of Seaman’s Bank for Savings for 20 years. He was also a board member of several major corporations, including Union Pacific, Consolidated Edison, and the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company.

Virgil also held many positions outside of the private sector. He was appointed as a deputy superintendent of the State Banking Department when Nelson Rockefeller became governor of New York. Decades later, after serving as Westchester County’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Virgil was named by Governor George Pataki to head the agency. Under his watch, from 1995 until 2001, historic initiatives were undertaken, including the move from bus and subway tokens to MetroCards and the introduction of EZ Pass at bridges and tunnels.

Virgil was introduced to Pace University during his time working at Seaman’s Bank for Savings in downtown Manhattan. He was immediately struck by the importance of Pace to the community around it. He respected that it gave people the opportunity to work in the bustling downtown scene while earning a degree. A scholarship recipient himself, he also admired how accessible Pace was to lower income students. For these reasons, he knew he needed to expand his commitment to bettering his hometown by getting involved in this prestigious New York institution.

Even though he did not attend Pace himself, he immediately threw himself into helping the school. He established an endowed scholarship in his name and served as a trustee for 23 years, eventually becoming a trustee emeritus. During his time as trustee, Virgil served as the vice chair of the University Advancement Committee of the Board of Trustees. He was also a member of the Campaign Planning Committee, the 2006 President’s Centennial Society, the Edward J. Mortola Heritage Society, the Campaign Council, Campaign Corporate Committee, and the Board of Trustees Reception Committee, 2001, as well as the Honorary Chair for the Leaders in Management Award Dinner in 2006. In 1990, Pace awarded Virgil an honorary doctorate in recognition of his generosity and hard work.

E. Virgil Conway passed away at the age of 86 on October 21, 2015, in the same Southampton hospital where he was born. His legacy at Pace, however, lives on through The E. Virgil Conway Endowed Scholarship Fund. He even continued his generosity after passing through a thoughtful planned gift.

Virgil’s scholarship continues to grant low-income students access to education to this day. In his honor, Virgil’s family continues to support his fund at Pace with donations from the Conway Foundation. Allison Conway Worthington, Virgil’s daughter and president of the foundation, initially was interested in Pace to honor her father’s memory, but Pace’s mission and success helping students have impressed her and the family. She began a relationship with Pace’s president and staff and started keeping up to date on university news. She also started attending the yearly scholarship dinner. What started as a way to honor her father’s relationship with Pace turned into a relationship of her own with the university.

Like Virgil, you, too, can use your estate to create a scholarship to support Pace students. To get started, contact Marc Potolsky at 212-346-1619 or mpotolsky@pace.edu.