A Learning Experience

With all of the success Peter ('78MBA, '06HON) and Peg D’Angelo '70Ed have enjoyed and their reputation as generous philanthropists, their grandchildren might be expected to be the benefactors of the latest and greatest toys currently on the market. But in the corner of the family room within their suburban Long Island home is a stack of playthings that belonged to the D’Angelo children themselves more than 25 years ago. “Our grandson just loves these old toys,” Mrs. D’Angelo explains. “He enjoys playing with the same things his mother and uncle played with.”

That love of tradition and family has clearly been passed on to the younger generation of the D’Angelo family. This is not at all surprising given the life Peter and Peg have lived, with its commitment to family and values and the firm foundation of love which they have nurtured during their more than 36 years of marriage. And while their hard work has brought them both personal successes, they find the most joy in the things they have done for others.

From the beginning, Peter and Peg were friends united in their love of family, learning and service. Growing up in Elmont, NY, they had similar, yet reversed family situations: she was the oldest of three and he the youngest of three. The pair dated on and off in high school and college. Peter attended Queens College after a stint serving in the Navy and working while Peg enrolled at St. John’s. “I always wanted to go to St. John’s,” she explains. “I was the oldest in my family and I wanted to stay home and be near them. St. John’s was the perfect place and they gave me a scholarship.”

Times were different then and women were not able to apply to St. John’s College (in fact, women weren’t even allowed to wear pants unless the temperature dropped below 32 degrees) so Peg enrolled in the School of Education where she majored in Math and minored in Education. She planned on making her career as an educator until time spent as a studentteacher convinced her that classroom teaching was not the job for her. So instead she became a programmer for the New York Telephone Company. Peg says she loved her time at St. John’s where she played on the women’s basketball team, was president of her sorority, Alpha Sigma Alpha (national chapter), a member of the President’s Society and a member of the Glee Club and its “10 Little Indians” group.

Peter’s route to St. John’s was a bit more circuitous. After majoring in economics at Queens College, he graduated in 1971 and entered the business realm working as a comptroller at a textile company. He soon secured employment with Marine Midland Bank and after a decade left as a Vice President and Lending Officer. Peg and Peter married in 1972 and he started an MBA program at New York University, but working all day and attending classes in the evening caused him to miss precious time with his family. St. John’s MBA program at the time offered classes on Saturdays and he enrolled to take advantage of that more attractive schedule. His classroom training and his work experience aided him when in 1983 he and Bruce Kovner founded Caxton Associates, L.L.C., one of the first and today one of the largest hedge fund operators in the United States.

While her husband climbed the corporate ladder, Peg worked hard as a stay-at-home mother to their children, Linda and Peter. She also invested her energies in philanthropy and today is on the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart Academy, in Hempstead, NY, her high school alma mater. The couple served as chairs last year of the St. Francis Hospital Gala and has formed the D’Angelo Foundation which allows them to be active in a variety of charities including The Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN), which runs a network of soup kitchens and shelters in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

At St. John’s, they sponsor student participation in Habitat for Humanity, and Peter serves on the Board of Trustees and as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors. The D’Angelos say the Vincentian charism has kept them both firmly rooted in their love for St. John’s. “The University has not strayed from its mission,” Peg says. “It continues to educate often first generation college students and students who might otherwise be unable to go to college from a financial standpoint and we think that sets St. John’s apart. It’s not just because we went there, but it’s because we think that what the school does is unique and we really believe in it.”

They believe in the mission so much that they support a scholarship for math majors in The School of Education and have endowed a chair in the humanities within St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. With the endowed chair, the couple said they wanted St. John’s students to have access to world renowned professors who would join the already stellar faculty at the University as visiting professors. This year they have that in the person of Dr. John Haught, a theologian and a Professor Emeritus from Georgetown University whose work focuses on the intersection of science and religion. The D’Angelo’s commitment to St. John’s is a solid one. “We recognize we couldn’t have accomplished much without the education we have received,” Peter says. “You see so much poverty, evenin a wealthy place like New York. I think our goal was to try and help that situation and we both very strongly believe that education is the path and St. John’s is a tremendous tool in creating that successful environment.”

St. John’s University Provost Julia Upton, RSM, Ph.D. '73G, '75G praises the D’Angelos for their active involvement. “One of the things that really has impressed me about them from the beginning is the level of their involvement,” Dr. Upton says. “They don’t just write a check.” She points to the example that while the D’Angelos donated the funding for the organ in St. Thomas More Church, they also went to the factory in New Jersey where the organ was built and learned all about it. In creating the endowed chair, Dr. Upton said the couple really wanted someone of renown who would be able to interact with the students and faculty in a way that would enhance the educational experience. It has also been of benefit to Dr. Haught, she says. “He’s working with the Philosophy Department, teaching undergraduates,” Dr. Upton says. “He hasn’t taught undergraduates in years and he’s loving it.”

The D’Angelo children say they are not surprised that their parents would go the extra mile for St. John’s. Peter J. D’Angelo says his mother and father have always been huge proponents of education and spread that message within the family. “They buy our cousins computers to take with them when they go away to school,” he says. “They are so encouraging to everyone in our family to get the best education they can and they let them know that they are there to help them if they need it.” Their daughter, Linda Kuczwaj, says the pair insisted that she and her brother focus on their studies when they were students. “They said ‘You are not getting an after school job, school is your job,’” says Linda, who married an alumnus and former Math major, Matthew ('91C, '93G), who shared a professor or two with her mother. Linda says her parents are very proud of their affiliation with St. John’s. “I think it’s exciting for them to see how the University has grown,” Linda says. “They enjoy bragging about the dorms and the new buildings.”

In November 2008, Peg was honored with the University’s President’s Medal at The School of Education’s 100th Anniversary Convocation. It was an exciting evening for her, though she admits to being uncomfortable in the spotlight. The award was the result of her countless hours of devotion to her family, philanthropy and The School of Education where she serves as Chair of the Centennial Leadership Committee. Peg says she and Peter are simply living out their purpose. “When you are blessed — and I think we are blessed with a lot not just in financial terms but also with family and friends and education — you have to not only look for the opportunities, but you have a responsibility to pay it forward,” she says. “We feel that we need to do that. You can’t just take, you always have to give back. We’ve been fortunate in finding organizations that need some help and places that are doing things that we really strongly believe in. It’s just part of who we are at this point.”