Alum with lifelong bond to Tulane set to receive Emeritus Lifetime Achievement Award
Since he first set foot on campus in 1969, Michael “Mike” McKeever’s thoughts have never been far from Tulane. He graduated with his BA in economics in 1973 and continued on for his MBA, completing his degree in 1975. In 1985, he was back, helping move his younger brother into Sharp. And, over the years, he has served on virtually all the university’s most impactful boards and councils including the Board of Tulane, the President’s Council, the Family Leadership Council, the Tri-State National Campaign Council and the T-Club as well as chairing his 40th reunion and serving on the committee for his 50th reunion.
His fellow Class of 1973 alumni agree that McKeever has been tireless in his advocacy for Tulane and his commitment to moving the university forward for decades. For this dedication, McKeever was recently elected to receive the Emeritus Lifetime Achievement Award at his upcoming 50th reunion.
The news was a surprise to McKeever. He says, “It’s humbling. To tell you the truth, I’m sure there are many, many people from my class who are just as deserving. I really believe that.” McKeever first came to Tulane on an athletics scholarship. He and his two brothers R. Bruce McKeever (A&S ’70) and Patrick H. McKeever (B ’89) were all lettermen in swimming. Later, when he wanted to continue on for his MBA, he served as a residential advisor, which covered room and board.
“I really couldn’t have gone to Tulane without the scholarship,” he recalls, “And I have tried to repay the university over the years.”
After graduation McKeever built a brilliant career, rising to become the head of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s Investment Banking and Private Equity Divisions. Today he is managing partner of Legacy Venture Partners, LLC., a privately owned investment family office in Greenwich, Connecticut.
“I don’t think I would have been successful without the education, both in the classroom and out, without having got it at Tulane. Tulane provided me with financial support and a great, great education at a critical time in my life,” says McKeever. “I’m a long-distance swimmer at heart and have always known how to work long hours. Tulane provided me with a wonderful educational foundation which launched my career.”
As he built his career and began raising a family, Tulane was never far from his thoughts. Thrilled to see Tulane’s recovery in the years after Hurricane Katrina, McKeever decided to step up his involvement and philanthropy.
“It’s remarkable how well the university has done. The school has just been on a roll — academics, research, success in the community, athletics. And it’s been wonderful to participate in that,” says McKeever.
And McKeever has quietly paved the way for other rising Tulanians to follow in his footsteps as students and athletes through the McKeever Civic Engagement Scholarship Fund at the Center for Public Service, the McKeever Endowed Scholarship Fund at Newcomb-Tulane College as well as through the McKeever Family Athletics Career Development Endowed Fund and by his sponsorship of a multipurpose classroom in the Don and Lora Peters Academic Center.
He proved a Tulane booster closer to home as well — his son Matthew McKeever is a 2017 Tulane graduate and his nephew Robert Bruce McKeever III is a 2008 graduate.
McKeever says that the qualities he found among his fellow Class of 1973 students, namely, “Intelligence, drive and a sense of humor” have been echoed throughout his Tulane interactions over the years.
“Whether teachers, students, athletes, or later on, board members, I got to meet people who were remarkable. I’m proud to be associated with such successful, interesting, incredibly accomplished people.”
