Paying it Forward

Jim Carroll just donated $12 million to Le Moyne, the largest alumni financial gift to the college to date. He now spends most of his time caring for his wife who has from Alzheimer’s

By Margaret McCormick

James J. “Jim” Carroll selects a spot on the lawn in front of the stage at Johnson Park in Liverpool and sets up two camp chairs, one for himself and one for his wife, Mary. A crowd is gathering for a summer evening performance by Letizia and the Z Band. He gets Mary settled in her seat and walks through the park, stopping at a table operated by the Liverpool Public Library and at a vendor selling ice cream before making his way back to Mary with two treats.

Carroll, 79, is dressed in gray shorts, a striped shirt and an orange and gray Syracuse University hat with a houndstooth-style pattern.

You wouldn’t know he’s a millionaire — he doesn’t dress, drive or live the part glamorized on TV and in the media. Yet he is a millionaire. And a very generous one.

Carroll made headlines earlier this year when he donated $12 million to his alma mater, Le Moyne College. The donation, Le Moyne’s largest alumni financial gift to date, gave the College of Arts and Sciences a new name. It’s now known as the Dr. James J. ’66 and Mary A. Carroll College of Arts and Sciences.

The college has called Carroll’s gift “transformational.’’ Carroll says Le Moyne transformed him.

“Le Moyne really totally changed my life,’’ Carroll said recently. “My grades weren’t terrific. I was working two jobs while taking classes. Le Moyne helped me with financial aid. The college really helped me a great deal.’’

In his student days in the 1960s, Carroll had no money to spare, let alone share. He grew up in Binghamton and graduated from the former St. Patrick’s Academy. Two months before he was due to leave for college, his father died. In addition to the money Carroll saved from his summer job, his mother was able to come up with the funds to cover his freshman year in full.

Carroll originally studied math but ended up with dual majors in political science and history.

On top of his course load, he worked two jobs: one for the Syracuse Department of Parks and Recreation and the other as a dishwasher at the campus dining hall. In his junior year, he recalls, he moved off campus to save money. He and a friend shared a room in a house that cost $1 a day. College had its rocky moments, but one of the high points was meeting his future wife.

Following graduation from Le Moyne in 1966, Carroll continued his education at Syracuse University, earning a master’s degree in social studies education in 1970 and a doctorate in social science from SU’s Maxwell School in 1985. He began his career in education as a social studies teacher at Bishop Ludden High School before accepting a teaching position at Westhill High School. By this time, he and Mary had young children at home. (They have seven adult children and eight grandchildren.)

During his time at Westhill, Carroll created Project LEGAL, a program designed to advance elementary and secondary students’ problem-solving skills and knowledge of the U.S. legal and judicial system. The grant-funded program earned state and national validation and Carroll left Westhill to move it to BOCES and then to Syracuse University. He retired from SU as a research associate professor earlier this year.

Some people dream of being a millionaire, but Carroll never dreamed that an investment he made in 2016 would result in a big payoff. He invested in NVIDIA, a company that’s a pioneer in computer technology and artificial intelligence, and watched it, in the words of financial services company The Motley Fool, “catch lightning in a bottle.”

“I never really expected anything in return,’’ Carroll said. “I was really shocked.’’

Their unexpected fortune hasn’t changed them. The Carrolls live in the same house in Syracuse they’ve lived in since 1987 and Jim drives 2016 and 2005 cars.

An estate lawyer encouraged him to establish a family trust and consider a plan for charitable giving. Giving back to the small college that shaped him personally and professionally came to mind naturally. Much of his donation will provide scholarships to students in need of financial support.

“There wasn’t any big moment where I decided to donate… I just thought, Le Moyne is what really was responsible for my whole career. So, if there was some way I could pay it forward I wanted to do that,” he said. “My original intent was to provide students in economic need with scholarships. That’s what most of my gift is going towards.’’

Carroll’s drive and emphasis on education left a mark on his kids: All of them went to college. The family includes a social worker, a dentist, a veterinarian and a lawyer, among other professions.

“I always remember my oldest, Annemarie, telling me one time: ‘When you grow up as a Carroll, you’re expected to go to college and do well.’ They grew up seeing my strong work ethic and knowing the same was expected of them,’’ he said.

It was Annemarie, a clinical psychologist, who confided to her father in 2012 that Mary exhibited signs of Alzheimer’s disease, which can include memory loss, confusion and difficulty completing tasks.

Two medications help to moderate the symptoms, Carroll said. He is Mary’s primary caregiver and he tries to get his “bride of 57 years” out several times a week. They go to mass at St. Lucy’s Church in Syracuse, as they have for about 20 years. They frequent local restaurants, like the Blarney Stone on Tipperary Hill and Pasta’s on the Green in Baldwinsville and are fixtures at venues and outdoor events where there’s live music.

“She enjoys those,’’ Carroll said. “But she doesn’t remember them.’’

Returning home after an outing can be hard, he added.

“‘Coming home’ to her means that both of her parents are still alive. That’s where her home is, in her mind. Her father died in 1964 and her mother died in 1990,” he said. “She gets upset when I enter the driveway to our home at night.’’

Day-to-day life has its challenges, Carroll said, but his retirement earlier this year came at a good time. Mary’s condition has worsened in the last year, which makes travel and long-range plans difficult. They stay close to home.

“I need to be here with my wife,’’ he said.

The Carrolls attend Le Moyne events as they’re able and Carroll is happy to speak with fellow alumni considering legacy gifts. He also has completed training with the Alzheimer’s Association so he can educate and help others providing care to loved ones with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

“The main thing, at least right now, is there is no cure for Alzheimer’s,’ Carroll said. “There are only medications that delay the progression of the symptoms.

“Alzheimer’s can greatly affect mood and attitude. From day to day, you’re never sure what mood the person you’re caring for is going to be in. The only good part is they forget five minutes later. I always keep reminding myself of that. In five minutes, she’ll be smiling again or saying to me, ‘can I get you something?’”