DePauw Stories

When John Scully ’79 began studying philosophy at DePauw, he envisioned a goal of becoming a liberal arts professor. With some careful advising by a professor, and a wealth of leadership and relationship experiences on and off-campus, Scully instead found his way into a career in the legal profession.

“A tremendous winter-term externship hosted by the honorable Ira Brown ’52 in superior court in San Francisco confirmed my decision to become a lawyer,” Scully says. (pictured below: John, Karen, Laura '18, Sara '13 and John A. Scully '79)

Scully, who grew up in Northwest Indiana, visited several colleges before deciding on DePauw. He says it was the accomplished, ambitious, friendly and fun students who persuaded him to choose DePauw, and he is grateful for that life-changing decision. Now a successful trial lawyer, Scully is the co-founder of Cooper and Scully P.C. in Dallas. He credits his DePauw experience for setting him on the path to career satisfaction and success as well as the lifestyle of community involvement and giving back.

“The excellent professors at DePauw taught me how to think, write and speak critically and coherently. Those skills are vital to every profession and career,” Scully says. “I am especially grateful to professor Marcia McKelligan and professor Roger Gustavsson. They both inspired me to grow and succeed as a student, and provided me the foundation to succeed in law school and law practice.”

His education went beyond the classroom, too, in ways that significantly influenced his personal development and maturity. As a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, he says he became part of a group who remain friends today and get together regularly. “We cared about each other, helped each other attain our goals, and we had lots of fun along the way,” Scully says.

During his junior year, Scully studied in France as one of the DePauw students in the Aix-en-Provence program. “We survived our classes in French, met scores of interesting people in our program from all over the world, and enjoyed life in the south of France,” Scully says. “On winter break from that program, I hitchhiked through North Africa. I remember spending Christmas Eve in a candlelit cave home in Matmata, Tunisia, truly appreciating the beauty and diversity of the world DePauw had opened for me.”

He adds that his role as president of the Academic Council during his senior year gave him an invaluable leadership experience advocating for students before the faculty and administration.

“My DePauw experience – including the leadership opportunities and establishing relationships with students, faculty, administrators and alumni – filled me with the confidence that I could succeed in any academic, work or social setting,” Scully says.

Since his days as a student, Scully raised a family, recently celebrating 30 years of marriage with his wife Karen. The couple has three children: Sara ’13, Laura ’18 and John (Texas A&M, 2016). Sara, an honor scholar, student body president and Fulbright scholar, has followed in Scully’s footsteps as a philosophy major and now a law student at Southern Methodist University. Laura, an English writing major, was a civic fellow and first-year mentor, and is working as a digital media analyst in Chicago. Both daughters were Girl Scout Gold Award winners and members of Pi Phi. Son John, an Eagle Scout, earned a degree in marine transportation, his passion. He works in the maritime industry on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Scully has remained involved with DePauw, most recently hosting DePauw football coaching staff on a scouting trip for outstanding student-athletes in Texas. Football and student athletics became a passion for Scully when his own children were involved in youth sports. He began coaching his son’s middle school football team, went on to coach high school football and remains involved as an assistant coach. In addition to working with DePauw to recruit students, he has served as chair of the Board of Visitors, helped lead his reunion class in its philanthropic giving efforts and assists the Beta Theta Pi chapter house corporation. About his recent 40-year class reunion, Scully says, “It was a very fun weekend. It was as if we had never left DePauw.”

Scully says DePauw was transformational not only for him but also for his sister Susan Scully ’80, a nursing major, and his daughters. “DePauw is an extraordinary university that empowers and supports students as they pursue their passions,” he says, adding that the experience and the success he has achieved in life since DePauw instilled in him the commitment to invest in DePauw for current and future students.

“Karen and I were delighted to establish the Scully Family Endowed Scholarship, and have enjoyed meeting and following the DePauw experiences and success of the students who have received awards from the scholarship,” he says.