Recently retired Education department alumnus Paul McGilvray has come full circle, geographically, and from beneficiary to benefactor at Curry College.

A Weymouth, MA native, Paul spent four years in the Navy between graduating high school and enrolling at Curry. It was very competitive to get into college at that time due to the number of Korean War veterans enrolling under the GI Bill.  Paul had heard good things about Curry and seized the opportunity to excel as an athlete, playing four years of both basketball and baseball under legendary Curry coach Jack Vallely.

After graduating in 1962, Paul spent two years in the Peace Corps teaching in Ethiopia. 

“I lived in a house with mud walls, a tin roof and bamboo floors.  There was no road connecting us with the outside world, just a path we would navigate in a jeep every six months for supplies,” Paul recalls.  “Our lone creature comfort was a battery powered Victrola record player and one Peter Paul and Mary record. I taught World History and English as a second language to 7th, 8th, and 12th graders.”

In the course of learning to survive under difficult circumstances while improving the lot of his fellow man, Paul developed characteristics that served him throughout his career.

Paul traveled through Europe before retuning to the United States to conclude his Peace Corps experience as a recruiter in a territory that spanned Minnesota to Tennessee. He taught for a while Cook County, IL before an old Peace Corps friend connected him with a position in the new federal Head Start program, dealing with education, family planning, nutrition and care of seniors.  Paul’s career with Head Start began based in Kansas City covering Montana, Colorado and Wyoming; he picked up a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska along the way. Throughout the years, he held positions within the program from New England to the Northwest.

Paul credits his development with the quality, personalized teaching he received at Curry, noting that former professors Dr. Levin, Dr. Finn and Dr. McGrath made strong impressions on him. 

The Curry community welcomes Paul and his wife Barbara back to the Northeast upon their recent move to Cape Cod and is grateful for their generosity and involvement in current affairs at the College.  Paul is a charter member of the National Alumni Council, a group of diverse alumni dedicated to supporting the mission of Curry College and increasing alumni participation in the Annual Fund.  Our deepest appreciation goes out to Paul, whose sense of community and philanthropy is an example for all.