support, and made significant sacrifices to help their children negotiate childhood and become productive adults. It is probably no accident that Dick and Tom both became college presidents. Flynn’s father, Bernard, who died in 1990,
worked hard on the assembly line for Caterpillar, Inc. When he arrived home at the end of the day, he usually found his two sons sitting on the curb in front of the house with baseball gloves and a beat-up old baseball, waiting to play catch with dad. Those evenings marked the beginning of what has proven to be a lifelong common bond between brothers—participation and compe- tition on the fields of play and, later, in leading institutions of higher education. Through the years, the brothers have
shared “war stories,” and provided advice and counsel to each other on campus issues— president to president, colleague to colleague, and brother to brother. The conversations have taken place on fishing trips, on the golf course, and at Flynn family gatherings. Always there was a shared
history, a deep sense of trust, mutual assistance, and just a little competition. Flynn also credits
his older sister, Pat, who—he says—had tremendous interper- sonal skills and business acumen, and a strong work ethic. And, he adds, she was as competi- tive as her brothers. As a student at
MacMurray College, Flynn excelled in the classroom, made his mark as a three-sport athlete, and even took a turn as a disc jockey at the college radio station. He also met the former Jani Koopman, a math and chemistry major at MacMurray. Dick and Jani were married in June 1963, raised three children, and now enjoy nine grandchildren. Speaking at Flynn’s 1999
President and Jani Flynn work at a neighborhood church during Humanics in Action Day.
inauguration, Del Weber, former chancellor at the university of nebraska at omaha (uno) where Flynn had been a longtime admin- istrator, told the Springfield College community how fortunate they were to be getting a “package deal” that included Jani Flynn. He called the selection a ”two-fer” and remarked on Jani’s level of support and involvement at
uno—especially noteworthy, Weber noted, since it was a time when many spouses of college presidents were not typically serving in the traditional role of support person to the college and the presi- dent. As the Springfield College community knows, Jani has been their ardent supporter and usually can be found at scholarly, cultural, alumni, and sporting events. She also has served the College well as an interior designer for new and renovated facilities, as well as an external ambassador, and Springfield College has benefited greatly as a result of her many efforts. Integrity, as it relates to leadership, may
be viewed in two ways: the integrity of the organization, and the integrity of the individual leader. one of the great strengths of Springfield College has always been its solid foundation in the Humanics philosophy and the College’s mission. As a long-time
As a long-time student of both leadership and integrity, Flynn knew that leading with integrity had to be based on a foundation of values that were commonly respected and viewed as positive and respectful of others, as well as living by principles that emphasized caring, growth, and a greater sense of purpose.
Tip-off of the Naismith Rules Game, played April 15, 2010, during the College’s 125th Anniversary year
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