Bill Greehey is being inducted as an associate after years of service, dedication and generosity shown toward St. Mary’s Athletics and the University as a whole, acts that were exemplified through his time served on the Board of Trustees and through being honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of St. Mary’s. A major benefactor to St. Mary’s University, Greehey was a contributor to the Bill Greehey Arena in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center, a showpiece in NCAA Division II athletics. Greehey’s philanthropy can be traced back to his first donation to his alma mater — a 1961 gift in the amount of $4. Heartened by the Marianists’ mission of academic excellence, ethical commitment, servant leadership and community building, Greehey’s first gesture toward the University was far from his last. He chaired the campaign to build the Alumni Athletics & Convocations Center, a $22 million dollar facility that opened in 2000, and later made an unprecedented $25 million gift to endow the St. Mary’s undergraduate and graduate business programs — the school from which he graduated — to fund what is now known as the Bill Greehey School of Business. “The students deserve the best,” Greehey would say of his significant gestures. Passionate for education, ethical business practices and service, Greehey built a thriving professional career in the business sector, including serving as the CEO of Valero Energy and founder of NuStar Energy.