John Cooper UCLA ’58 wants to pass along what he received from Phi Delta Theta: a home away from home at college, the incentive to excel academically, and an environment in which he could become a man. Out of this motivation he has given generously to the Phi Delta Theta Foundation for more than thirty years. In March 2008,Cooper received the Golden Legionnaire Award, signifying 50 years of membership in Phi Delta Theta. At the same time, he and his wife Bernie were presented with a certificate and pin to honor their membership in the Living Bond Society, recognizing their decision to include Phi Delta Theta in their estate planning.

At 71 years of age, Cooper considers his membership in the UCLA Phi Delt chapter one of two truly substantive events in his life. The second is his education at Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona, where he graduated at the top of his class with an MBA in International Business Management. The son of a single, working mother, Cooper enrolled in UCLA at a young age and looked to his Fraternity brothers as his family away from home. He earned varsity letters in rowing and participated actively in everything Phi Delta Theta had to offer. That was a real watershed time in my life,” he recalls. I started school at 16, and the guys in the house and the chapter advisor were the people who, on a day-today basis, acted as my family.

Cooper pledged Phi Delta Theta at a time when students had a strong drive to be part of a group. Phi Delta Theta was considered one of the top three outstanding fraternities on the UCLA campus, and members were easily identified by their khaki trousers and blue nylon windbreakers. When a young and inexperienced Cooper was struggling with his grades, he benefited from the intervention of older fraternity brothers, Korean War veterans attending UCLA on the G.I. Bill. They were serious about studying, so they counseled me, kicked me around, and got me back on track, Cooper fondly recalls. The fraternity saved me from being a dropout. They were very much an extension of my family.

An international banker who lived overseas for twenty years, Cooper credits Phi Delta Theta with teaching him how to grow up. I learned how to shift gears from being a spoiled kid to a responsible young man in the company of friends who were going through the same process, he says. His desire to pass along this experience to future generations is strong motivation for his giving. I began to believe quite seriously that there will be kids who might have the intellect, desire,and drive but not the economics to attend college and join a fraternity, which would form them as people not just as students. I felt I should do something about that, Cooper recalls. My wife and I discussed it, and it’s become an important part of our charitable life. I was lucky enough to have this experience, and I feel responsible for passing it on and making sure others have the opportunity I was given.

A member of the Trustees Roundtable, Cooper is intentional about keeping his giving unrestricted, allowing staff and volunteers to determine the best use of the funds. “It’s the steady giving back of a lot of people that allows Phi Delta Theta to continue to grow,” he shares. He cites the fact that the Fraternity is strong, growing, and continuing to attract new and talented members as a sign of its relevance today. The need for training and education of young men is as dramatic now as it was when I was in school, and somebody has to do it, he says.

A resident of Islamorada, in the Florida Keys, Cooper is a member of Phi Delt’s Southernmost Alumni Club in the United States, a group of 25-30 full-time residents and snowbirds” living in the Keys. Cooper also keeps in touch with many of his Cal Gamma brothers and considers them close friends. I can’t tell you the loyalty and great times we all had together as friends and fraternity brothers, he says. It was wonderful and very special.

Reflecting on his experience, he says, I consider myself to be very lucky and blessed by the opportunities given to me. From a very poor and humble background, I think life has been good to me. When you get to be my age and life has been reasonably good, you have to start thinking, What can I do to give back?  Giving to the Fraternity, my graduate school, and UCLA is what I’ve done,” Cooper says. My hope is that young guys will have the opportunity to develop, not just as students, but as responsible members of the community. That’s something the Fraternity uniquely offers.