The McArthur Family scholarship is part memorial fund and part an honorary fund.
- Memorial for William (Bill) Gerard McArthur (1971 – 2020): 1995 graduate of Shippensburg University and an Information Technology (IT) leader and executive
- In honor of William (Bill) George McArthur: Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Shippensburg University for 27 years
- In honor of Catherine (Cathy) Marie McArthur: alumna (Masters) of Shippensburg University and lifelong educator
Please consider making a gift in honor of the McArthur family to support well-deserving students attending the College of Engineering (which includes the Computer Science Department) at Shippensburg University.
William “Bill” Gerard McArthur: Bill McArthur was born on May 17, 1971 and grew up in Shippensburg, PA. He graduated from Shippensburg University in 1995 and later received an MBA from Indiana University. Professionally Bill had an exceptional technical mind and was a compassionate leader serving in executive IT leadership roles at Scientific Games Inc, the Sands Corporation, and Resorts World, Las Vegas.
Bill was a rugby enthusiast, playing at Shippensburg University and Knoxville, and he considered his rugby friends like family. He was athletic throughout his life and was an age-group and high school swimmer, played football at Shippensburg Area Senior High School, ran marathons, biked in long-distance events, and was a triathlete, including completion of a Half IronMan.
Bill loved to travel and shared this love with his wonderful wife Stacey. Bill had an overall love of life which he exhibited by wearing his favorite Life is Good® shirts. He was known for an irreverent sense of humor for which we all loved him, and he would often bring laughter and smiles to anyone who was fortunate enough to know him.
Bill was so proud of the young woman and young man his children are growing up to be. He was an incredible husband, father, brother, son, and friend. He left us too soon and is dearly missed.
To honor Bill please remember his mantra of “Life is Good.”
William “Bill” George McArthur: Bill McArthur was born in Kearny, NJ. Bill is a proud veteran of the US Army from 1961 to 1964. Bill then received his B.S. in Mathematics from Villanova and a PhD in Mathematics from Penn State University.
After receiving his PhD, Bill met the Shippensburg State College Mathematics Department head at a conference in New Orleans in 1969. He was hired initially to teach for only one term at Shippensburg and during that time fell in love with the area, his colleagues, and his students and ended up staying at the University for 27 years.
When the Shippensburg Mathematics department started a program in Computer Science, Bill started teaching computer science and computer programming. During his tenure at Shippensburg University, Bill coached the Shippensburg University computer programming team for approximately 10 years. The team competed in regional competitions and won the PA state college championship multiple times while Bill was coach. Bill co-authored (with Winston Crawley, PhD, a peer Shippensburg University faculty member) multiple textbooks on programming in the coding language Turbo Pascal.
Bill loved the Shippensburg community and was on the school board for 10 years during which he was President of the School Board for 2 years. He found Shippensburg to be a wonderful place to raise a family and his 3 children were all on the Shippensburg Aquatic Club for several years. Bill was involved with the swim team and could be found many Saturdays in the roles of meet coordinator and/or timer during swim meets.
Bill retired from Shippensburg University in 1996 and then taught for 3 years at Richard Stockton University near Atlantic City, NJ while Bill and his wife lived in Cape May Beach, NJ. Bill is a highly active athlete and has competed in multiple marathons, a half IronMan, and multiple Dopey Challenges at Disney World. He is currently residing in the Orlando area of Florida with his lovely wife Cathy and nearby to his daughter-in-law, Stacey and 2 of the 7 of his grandchildren, Sarah and Billy (his other 5 grandchildren are Erin, Bridget, Garrett, Rachel, and Eric).
Catherine “Cathy” Marie McArthur: Catherine Marie (Fagan) McArthur was born in Bryn Mawr, PA. Cathy received her B.S. in Secondary Education from West Chester State College (now West Chester University) becoming the first female in her family to receive a college degree. Cathy began her teaching career in Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, PA where she taught English for three years. Cathy then moved to State College, PA while her husband, Bill McArthur, was completing his PhD. While living in State College, Cathy worked at Pattee Library at Penn State as the assistant head of the circulation department.
Cathy moved to Shippensburg in 1969 when Bill started what was to be a short-term teaching role that turned into 27 years. Cathy paused her teaching career for several years to start a family and had three children, Alexandra (Alex), William (Bill), and Katherine (Katie). During that time, Cathy, always an advocate for reading and education, received her M.S. in Library Science from Shippensburg University. In 1975 the family spent the summer at Penn State and Cathy completed an independent study during which she cataloged the John O’Hara private library that he had donated to Penn State, and Cathy published an article summarizing her findings. Cathy was also active in the Shippensburg community and was a member of the Shippensburg Public Library Board.
Cathy returned to full time teaching in 1981 at Fannett-Metal High School in Willow Hill, PA and taught a variety of subjects including English, French, Public Speaking, and Drama, and she directed the high school plays for several years initiating the drama program at the school. Cathy who has also had a lifelong passion for traveling and learning about other cultures, organized several international student trips during her time as a teacher at Fannett-Metal. After 14 years of teaching at Fannett-Metal, when Bill and Cathy moved to Cape May Beach, NJ, she then began teaching English at Cape May County Technical High School. She taught at Cape May County Technical High School for 7 years during which time she received the “Outstanding Teacher” award.
Even after retiring from teaching, Cathy worked at a bookstore because of her love of books and reading, and she volunteered to teach English one on one to people who had recently immigrated to the United States. Cathy’s love of travel has also continued as she and Bill have traveled much of the world together often involving athletic adventures. Cathy currently resides in the Orlando area of Florida with her husband Bill and nearby to her daughter-in-law, Stacey and 2 of the 7 of her grandchildren, Sarah and Billy (her other 5 grandchildren are Erin, Bridget, Garrett, Rachel, and Eric).