The beat goes on

By Melina Glusac | Photos by Kaley Joy

Standing outside Elbel Field and hearing the Michigan Marching Band play “The Victors” can strike a certain chord. The sound is distant yet strong—steadfast and familiar. It’s the sound of campus, no matter who you ask. 

Longtime University of Michigan donor Donald R. Shepherd (BBA ’58) might say it’s the sound that kickstarted his philanthropic journey. During a campus visit in the late 1970s, Shepherd was watching football practice until he was asked to leave.

“That’s when I went over and found the marching band, and [conductor] George [Cavender] spotted me and invited me up to watch rehearsal with him,” Shepherd said in an interview from 2023.

The rest is maize and blue history.

Setting the tempo

Shepherd’s involvement began with his first donation in 1978, which created a scholarship for Michigan Marching Band students. Now, he has 14 scholarships that support 25 undergraduate students in the MMB, along with three graduate awards that support between 14 and 35 students.

“His impact is definitely beyond the financial impact,” said Lauren Streng, one of this year’s scholarship recipients.

Relationships with students and faculty have been critical to Shepherd’s nearly half-century of giving. He often spent time with the band, traveling with them to bowl games and staying in the same hotels. His camaraderie with conductor Eric Becher in the 1980s led to the Shepherd Wing addition to Revelli Hall, where the MMB is headquartered to this day. 

“I just had so much faith and trust in him, and I was always looking for something to do that would move the programs ahead,” Shepherd said.

And move ahead they did. In 1990, Shepherd founded the Elbel Club: a group of friends, alumni, and community members dedicated to supporting the band. The club, along with Shepherd’s philanthropy, has raised almost $20 million for the MMB since its inception—funds that have gone toward new uniforms, instruments, and scholarships.

“He has given in student support, operations, creative,” said John Pasquale, Donald R. Shepherd Clinical Professor of Conducting, Director of Michigan Marching and Athletic Bands, and chief marshal to the university. “Pretty much every touchpoint of our program, Don’s generosity has either transformed by fully funding it or having a significant contribution so that we’re able to relieve stress on students.”

Students are the melody

For Shepherd, it’s all about the students. It always has been. 

“It’s not about him,” Pasquale said. “It isn’t about the glory of having names on buildings or an endowed professorship—he doesn’t care about that. He is genuine and down to earth, and all he cares about is helping others.”

This September, Shepherd’s merit-based scholarships, The Donald R. Shepherd Student Scholarships, were recently awarded to MMB undergrads to “recognize outstanding leadership and overall contribution” to the band.

Lauren Streng, a fifth-year dual-enrollment student in the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance and the College of Engineering, is the section leader of the Flag section. She has long admired previous scholarship recipients and is now proud to be one of them.

“I’m a huge lead-by-example type of leader and person, and seeing the people who came before me get this award, or even other scholarships—it pushed you to do something and to be better because you saw the impact it had on everyone,” Streng said.

Actually, Shepherd’s sustained support has sparked motivation among MMB students like Streng for generations.

“His legacy has trickled down, and he has impacted so many people beyond just me,” Streng said. “I was looking up to the people who received this scholarship already, and I think that alone creates a whole other legacy. It pushes people to strive for something.”

Tenor saxophone player Zach McCain is also galvanized by this support. For McCain, a fifth-year student in the School of Kinesiology, the scholarship signifies Shepherd’s strong example of leadership.

“It will help pay for school, but also it will motivate me to be able to uphold that standard that his scholarship has,” McCain said. “Also the legacy that he’s had, to be able to uphold that and be a better person because of it.”

“I’m honored,” McCain continued. “I was not expecting it at all.”

Jackson Pierce, a third-year student in the College of Engineering and euphonium player, values the aid the scholarship will grant him—support that will, in turn, help the band succeed. 

“Besides the financial implication that I’ll be able to focus on school and band instead of a part-time job, it’s good motivation to continue trying the hardest I can to improve this program, doing everything I can to make it better,” Pierce said.

The next movement

Giving leads to more giving in the MMB. Many alumni who were recipients of Shepherd’s scholarships as students have given back to the program, creating scholarships of their own.

“All of our students see this, and they’re inspired by it,” Pasquale said. “They see someone that is so philanthropic and so generous with their resources that they’re like, ‘Maybe I should think about this.’”

In fact, students across the university have been inspired and supported by Shepherd. About 20 years ago, he created a scholarship in the Office of Financial Aid to help U‑M students from Fenton High School, his alma mater. Additionally, he has supported numerous facets of Michigan Athletics throughout the years, with a focus on women’s sports, gymnastics, and tennis. He also boosts SMTD’s musical theatre program. 

At the heart of it all is a desire to help these programs improve, and the MMB is no exception. Shepherd has always had an eye on the future—the next movement in the grand piece of music that is his impact on Michigan. 

“I had the capability,” Shepherd said. “I had enough assets to live a good life, but at the same time, I thought, geez, I don’t want 50 years from now somebody to open a will and say, ‘Oh, we got some money here.’ All the opportunities it would have presented people in those 50 years would have been diminished.”

Instead, Shepherd has created opportunities in real time, across decades, helping students find their beat on and off Elbel Field.

“Because of his generosity,” Pasquale said, “we are able to have an infrastructure that sets the students up to not only succeed and to thrive, but also for us to give them the best possible educational experience.”