In Dayton, for good
When Dan and Jean McCabe arrived in Dayton in 1994, they thought it would be a temporary stop along their career paths. They were from New Jersey, after all. East Coast people.
“When we came to Dayton, we were told, ‘You come crying and you leave crying,’” Dan recalled. “I laughed it off at the time.”
But those words couldn’t have proven more prescient; the couple fell in love with the Dayton community. “We knew this was the place where we wanted to raise our children,” Jean said.
When Dan retired recently as CareSource chief of staff and CareSource Foundation chief executive, he was surprised by a gift that honored his deep roots in the community as well as his love for the University of Dayton.
At a company-wide retirement party in April, CareSource President and CEO Erhardt Preitauer announced the creation of the annual Dan McCabe Community Grant Award. The initial $50,000 award went to the Dan and Jean McCabe Scholarship Fund established by the couple at the University of Dayton to support UD Sinclair Academy students.
“I choked back tears,” Dan said. “They couldn’t have given me a more meaningful retirement gift. It’s so important to me that we support our young people in the Dayton area.”
Concurred Preitauer, “Given Dan’s commitment to the University of Dayton, this is a fitting inaugural award tied to a program that is both near and dear to his heart and also aligns with CareSource’s work to help people who are underrepresented, at-risk or economically challenged.”
The McCabes may not be UD alumni, but they couldn’t feel more invested in the University for which Dan has long served in a variety of volunteer roles, including chair of the advisory council for the College of Arts and Sciences.
“I have a continued love affair with UD,” he said. “I love the incredible people and the Marianist philosophy.”
When the McCabes wanted to make a substantial donation to the University in 2018, they decided on the UD Sinclair Academy, impressed by its potential to provide a university education for students who otherwise couldn’t afford it. “From the first day, you have a UD student ID, a RecPlex pass, a library card — a way to have the UD experience while attending Sinclair College for two years,” he said.
Former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft said that students could find no better role models than the McCabes, who were among the first people to befriend him and his wife Hope when Taft joined UD’s faculty in 2007 as a distinguished research associate.
“Dan’s a genuine, considerate and thoughtful person and a good listener,” Taft said. “There’s a lesson here for any young person entering a career about how you treat and nurture and serve as mentors for other people. You don’t have to be mean or nasty or self-centered to get ahead. You can collaborate and work together in a way that makes it fun and builds strong relationships that last for a lifetime.”
Jean recently retired from her career as a school nurse, and the couple hopes to enjoy more time with their children and grandchildren.
“Personally and professionally, we would not be where we are today if we hadn’t come to Dayton.”
“Personally and professionally, we would not be where we are today if we hadn’t come to Dayton,” Dan said. “This scholarship is very aligned with the realization of how much coming here has impacted our lives. We hope that the students who come through the UD Sinclair Academy will be staying in the Dayton area and keeping the talent in the region.”