Bowen served as not only a governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981, but he was also a former secretary of health and human services for the Reagan administration and a former board of trustees member for Ancilla College in the ’70s. According to Todd Zeltwanger, executive director of institutional advancement at the college, he played a very big role in helping Ancilla College become what it is today.
“He was very instrumental in getting Ancilla College noticed; for example, out on U.S. 30, he was instrumental in getting some signs put up for us and some visibility, I guess I would say. He just was always an advocate for us and believed in our mission and in the students that we were serving and was a wonderful financial supporter of the college as well, and we just wanted to give back in a small way and have something on this property that would keep his name alive,” Zeltwanger said.
Zeltwanger said the tree will be kept indoors for the ceremony before it is planted today due to inclement weather. The tree, he said, will be planted between Ancilla College and the Catherine Kasper Home, where Bowen spent some time as a resident. The tree will feature a marker with his name and it will be placed in a visible location where anyone walking or driving by can admire it.
