In 1947, Dr. Victor M. Powell was teaching at Dartmouth College when Wabash
Dean Byron Trippet asked him to interview for a job as a speech instructor.
In that postwar time Wabash Professor William Brigance was helping shape
the speech field, through his scholarship and leadership, as president of
the Speech Association of America.
"Brigance was the biggest name in speech in the country," Vic said. "I told
my soon-to-be wife that if I went out to Wabash for a couple of years and
got the Brigance name on my résumé, it would probably open the
door to go anywhere."
Vic and Marion came to Wabash for a two-year appointment-and never left.
"We fell in love with the place and couldn't imagine going anywhere else,"
said Vic.
The Minnesota native became a Wabash legend in his own right as a speech
professor from 1947 to 1989. He directed debate, taught speech, and served
as the dean and acting president of the College at different points.
Vic is known for wry observations, such as why Indiana has produced so many
writers. Observing that the state's climate is too hot and humid in the
summer and too damp, chilly, and slushy in the winter to encourage outdoor
activity, Vic once wrote, "Hence, for most of the year, the Hoosier stays
indoors and dreams, and what could be more conducive to writing?"
At 88, this professor emeritus enjoys shooting the breeze with other
retired colleagues at the Scarlet Inn. He is a fierce supporter of Wabash
and the importance of a liberal arts education.
"Wabash's strength comes from being a small college, where teachers know
their students and students know their teachers," he said. "Professors who
only want research go to big universities, and that's fine, but the Wabash
faculty is dedicated to the teaching of undergraduates."
Likewise, while Vic believes coeducation is important, "the single-sex
atmosphere at Wabash allows men to bond together and form very strong,
lifelong friendships," said the honorary alumnus of the class of '55.
Vic likes to joke that he got into the academic world by accident. He
graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1941, the same year the
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and like most men expected a call from
Uncle Sam. While he awaited that call, however, his debate coach secured an
assistanceship for him at the University of Missouri, where, after four
years in the service, he earned his master's and doctorate degrees.
In retirement, he and Marion, 82, volunteer with Meals on Wheels, the FISH
Food Pantry, the Clothing Closet, and other nonprofit organizations. The
couple has two daughters and four grandchildren.
Some time ago, the Powells established The Marion & Victor Powell-Nate
Quinn Scholarship Fund, in honor of an exceptional Wabash art student from
a "desperate background," as Vic put it. Quinn '00 impressed the couple
with his talent and hard work before he moved on to New York to pursue
graduate studies and work on the sets of Broadway shows.
Recently, the Powells set up a new gift annuity with Wabash that will
ultimately benefit the scholarship.
"The gift annuity does two good things," Vic explained. "It enhances our
income, with payments for life, and then makes a gift to the College when
we're gone. I funded the gift annuity with appreciated stock that was
paying nine-tenths of one percent. The rate we're getting from the annuity
payments is a much more attractive 7.8 percent."
In addition to avoiding the capital-gain tax that would have occurred if
they had sold the stock, the Powells received a charitable income-tax
deduction for the year the gift was made.
Vic encourages other Wabash alumni and faculty, past and present, to
consider establishing a gift annuity with the College. "It supports Wabash
and it supports you. What could be better than that?"