School of Public and Environmental Affairs namesake Paul O'Neill died Saturday at age 84, according to an IU press release. The IU alumni was the namesake for the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
According to the Associated Press, he died of lung cancer.
“Paul O’Neill was an extraordinary leader who, in his more than five decades working in the public and private sector, embodied the very ideals we strive to impart in our students,” President Michael McRobbie said in the release.
SPEA was renamed as the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs on March 4, 2019. He donated $30 million to IU.
He earned a Master of Public Administration from IU in 1966 and served as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under President George W. Bush’s first administration in 2001. He also worked as chief executive officer for industrial cooperation Alcoa.
He co-founded the nonprofit Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative, which addresses clinical and economics problems of the health care system. He later founded Value Capture LLC with his son, which provides support to health care executives and policymakers.
“Paul lived a life that was genuine and inspiring,” Dean of SPEA dean Sian Mooney said in the release. “He knew what all the great leaders know, lead by example.”
The Indiana Daily Student is working on a longer story honoring the life of O’Neill. If you’d like to share your stories of him or his work at IU, please reach out to news@idsnews.com with your name and contact information.
