Pyne Gift Supports More History to Make Strategic Vision
When Gary ’68 and Joan Oxenham Pyne ’69 reflect on their time at Marietta College, they speak less about buildings or accolades and more about people, purpose, and possibility. Those values now shape their transformational gift to Marietta College, designated to strengthen student engagement and recruiting, and ensuring future students discover the same sense of belonging and opportunity that defined their own experiences.
“I am so grateful to the Pynes for investing in future Pioneers,” said President Kathleen Poorman Dougherty. “Their generosity in supporting the College’s strategic vision, More History to Make, is rooted in gratitude, but it is focused firmly on the future — on students who will arrive at Marietta searching for direction, connection, and challenge. Their gift helps us seek out those students, meet them where they are, and invite them into a life-changing educational experience.”
Gary’s path to Marietta began almost by accident. A late acceptance letter in May rerouted his plans, landing him on the fourth floor of Douglas Putnam Hall. The climb was literal and figurative, but it introduced him to friendships that endure to this day. Joining the freshman rowing team under Coach Ralph Lindamood proved pivotal. “Coach Ralph Lindamood was in his prime and one of the finest people I have ever met. Here I was a freshman novice and he found time for the frosh boat and made us all better rowers and also better people.”
Joan arrived with intention. Graduating from a large public high school outside Washington, D.C., she wanted to “spread my wings and experience something different—like a small liberal arts school in the Midwest.” A presentation by a Marietta admissions representative sealed the decision. “I enjoyed every minute of my time at Marietta,” she said.
Joan immersed herself in campus life—majoring in sociology, leading Alpha Xi Delta, singing with Marietta College Singers, tutoring locally, and participating in Operation DIG, a peer-mentoring program for incoming students. Influential faculty across sociology, ethics, religion, and anthropology helped shape her academic and personal growth.
When Gary and Joan met, their lives quickly intertwined. They took classes in each other’s majors and discovered a shared love of art history, a passion that later enriched their travels throughout Europe during Gary’s military service. They married during Joan’s senior year, beginning a life shaped by service, resilience, and education.
Gary went on to a 44-year career in the insurance industry, eventually owning and building a successful agency. Joan built a distinguished career in education, rising from classroom teacher to Academic Dean and later serving on the Board of Directors at the school where she taught. Both credit Marietta for instilling a commitment to lifelong learning.
That commitment now finds expression in their philanthropy.
“Transformational gifts like the Pynes’ allow us to be proactive rather than reactive,” said Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement Bethany McFarland Leslie. “Their support strengthens our ability to engage students early, expand our recruiting reach, and clearly articulate the value of a Marietta education to families across the country.”
Joan served on Marietta’s Alumni Association Board, which allowed her to keep up with trends and watch the College and students evolve.
“It’s been our habit to contribute to educational causes and the More History to Make campaign seemed a meaningful way to support the school with a major gift,” Joan said. “Along with alumni friends we’ve been concerned about the difficulties colleges are facing with enrollment and financial issues in particular, especially small liberal arts schools.”
As they considered their long-term plans, the Pynes recognized an opportunity to make a difference and began a conversation with Marietta’s Advancement Office about the College’s direction and aspirations. What they found was a leadership team focused on building momentum and addressing priorities with intention and were encouraged by the strategic planning underway.
“The administration’s strategies that were developed to address the needs of a growing and successful Marietta College campus seemed to us to be coherent and attainable. We believe the leadership, faculty and administrators are committed and we want to help,” Gary said.
He added an encouraging message to fellow alumni to join them: “The time is now. Put your oar in the water and pull!”
For the Pynes, the gift is a way of paying forward what Marietta gave them: mentors who cared, friendships that lasted, and an education that prepared them not just for careers, but for meaningful lives.
“We’ve been very fortunate in our lives,” Gary said, “and Marietta College played a big part of our good fortune. We feel lucky to be able to contribute to the future success of Marietta.”