Roof Family Foundation

Don and Patricia Roof met at Dundee High School and married shortly after graduation. They lived in married housing at Eastern Michigan University where they both worked while Don was beginning his educational and professional journey in accounting and corporate finance. The couple returned to Dundee where they made their home and raised three daughters.

Don’s career path included a variety of executive positions in finance and accounting as well as management, including serving as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer for several national and international manufacturing companies and serving on the board of directors for several NYSE companies, most recently United Rentals, Inc.

As Don and Pat were exploring opportunities for supporting organizations and initiatives that were important to them, they both reflected on their own upbringing and the solid foundation that their fathers’ careers had provided. Don’s father had been trained as a tool and die maker and Patricia’s father had also worked as a skilled tradesman. “Our fathers both had great careers, working in manufacturing and very importantly, doing jobs they enjoyed,” said Don. “They were fortunate in that regard and so were we.”

Don’s professional experiences also made him keenly aware of the increasing need for highly skilled, well-trained individuals in manufacturing in recent years. That led Don and Pat to learning more about the programs and training MCCC offered, especially within the Applied Science and Engineering Technology (ASET) Division. “Not all careers require a traditional four-year university degree,” said Don. “And in this current economy, students with the right kinds of skills and training can land a well-paying job in a high-demand field with a certificate or associate degree in the specialty areas MCCC offers through ASET.”

Patricia and Don made the decision in 2014, to add The Foundation at MCCC to the organizations they support through their family foundation and to start funding scholarships for students with plans to study in one of the college’s 13 ASET programs. To date, eight students have received the $7,500 Roof Family Foundation scholarship, essentially a full-ride. “There are several reasons why we chose to, and continue to, be involved with The Foundation,” said Don. “In addition to the number of programs and the caliber of well-trained graduates that are then employed by companies locally and nationally after completing MCCC training, we enjoy the opportunity to meet and really get to know our scholarship recipients. “That is something you don’t always get to experience with larger institutions or other programs you might choose to support. We truly feel a direct connection to how we are helping others achieve their life goals,” he added.