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Letter From the President
I recently came across a letter from 1944, tucked inside an old college bulletin announcing the start of the Alumni Fund—what we now know as the Wheaton Fund. In it, a woman enclosed a check for two dollars. “Enough,” she hoped, “to buy a doorknob.” Her words were simple but striking: “Maybe this tiny gift will open the door of opportunity to someone who might prove a blessing to many—that is my prayer.”
That phrase, to “open the door of opportunity,” has stayed with me. For more than 150 years, Wheaton’s doors have remained open because of persistent faithfulness from people, like you, who trust that God would multiply their gifts, and that someone’s life would be changed.
That is the kind of imagination generosity requires: the willingness to give without knowing where the ripple will go, or how far.
In the spring of 1981, just three years before I became a Wheatie, President Armerding invited a small group of alumni and friends to join a new kind of partnership. The goal was simple: to form a community of donors committed to giving annually and praying daily in support of the College’s mission. By the time the very first President’s Memorandum was mailed, thirty people had said yes.
My wife Lisa’s parents, Jim and Elaine Maxwell, were among the original Wheaton Associates. Their giving during those early years was not driven by obligation or to meet a timely need of a new campus initiative—it was already a habit of life.
The Maxwells gave each year to the College. They opened their home to visiting missionaries, students, and faculty. They set a table that was rarely only for family. In their retirement, they left for Honduras to spend three years training doctors. They even left a portion of their estate to Wheaton, because they had long ago decided the College was family, too.
In addition to their commitment as Wheaton Associates, Jim and Elaine established a scholarship in memory of their infant son, Jack. Fittingly, the J. Maxwell Scholarship bears not only his name, but also that of Lisa’s grandfather, Dr. Joseph Maxwell, who served as Wheaton’s campus physician during the Second World War. In honoring both a life that ended far too soon and a life spent in faithful service, the scholarship is an ongoing testament to a family whose generosity continues to equip others for faithful kingdom work.
The Maxwell’s impact is etched into the daily life of this campus, still shaping how we live, give, and welcome others into what God is doing here. More than once, I have sat beside J. Maxwell Scholarship recipients at our annual endowed scholarship dinner, listening as they describe the life-changing impact of their Wheaton education. Their stories speak to a deeper truth: that generosity doesn’t stop with the giver. It lives on, flowing outward and shaping lives in ways we may never fully see this side of heaven.
The story of the Maxwell's is personal to me, but it’s not unusual. Over the past four decades, the steady partnership of Wheaton Associates has quietly and consistently shaped this campus—the kind of partnership that funds scholarships, supports faculty, and keeps the doors open for students to discover and pursue God’s calling on their lives.
As we mark over forty years of Wheaton Associates, I thank you for the part you play in this story. Your generosity, whether it began four decades ago or just last year, is part of a legacy that stretches back to that $2.00 doorknob, and forward into the lives of students who will serve Christ and His Kingdom in every sphere of society.
Thank you for walking faithfully with us. Thank you for opening doors.
Philip Ryken
President
Wheaton Associates Commitments
- PRAY regularly for the College, its students, faculty, and staff.
- PROMOTE the mission of Wheaton College in one’s community.
- GIVE to the Wheaton Fund annually.
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