Calvin M. Mew ’73: Ad Executive Says Thanks with Life Insurance Gift

Calvin M. Mew ’73: Ad Executive Says Thanks with Life Insurance Gift

Categories: 1836 Legacy Circle, Alums in the World

Calvin M. Mew ’73 never worked in a religious field, but he says that his religious education and his service as a tutor in New Testament at Union Theological Seminary shaped his life and his career as a high-powered advertising executive who helped turn Chrysler around. And that is why the longtime member of the board of trustees has named Union in his will as part of his estate planning and has also made Union a beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

“Union was the most important educational institution in my life,” says Calvin, who has a bachelor’s degree from Yale and was a graduate student at both Harvard Business School and Columbia. “Yale and Harvard don’t need my money.”

Calvin said he chose his life insurance asset to fund the gift because “it’s an inexpensive way to give.” Life insurance is one of the many charitable gifts that were unaffected by the recent changes in tax laws.

As an undergraduate at Yale, Calvin was encouraged to attend Union by a rather famous Yale chaplain—the late Rev. Dr. William Sloane Coffin ’52. “There was great teaching at every level,” Calvin said of Union, “and the serious study of the Bible and Christianity made me very much of who I am.”

After graduate school Calvin went into advertising, including more than 20 years as an executive vice president at Bozell Worldwide, one of the most prestigious ad agencies. It was there that he helped revamp Chrysler’s reputation. Now an independent management consultant, Calvin has served on the Union board since 1984.

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