Donor Spotlight - Ken and Jody Peck

Family: The inspiration for giving back

Ken Peck (BEd ‘93 and MACT ‘03) and Jody Peck (BCom ‘88) have fond memories of their time spent at the University of Alberta and say it was their family members who inspired them to do what few people (and for Jody, no one) in their families had done —  attend university. 

Jody, who was born in Saskatchewan, moved to Edmonton after living in many communities throughout the province while growing up. Ken called Lake Isle, west of Edmonton, home and felt he would work in the coal mines, like many in his family.  

But it was inspiration from Ken’s mother, Mary Peck, and Jody’s grandmothers, Ida Maxfield and Julie Bauer, and other family members that led both of them to pursue a post-secondary education at the University of Alberta.  

“What stands out from our university experience was the opportunity to meet so many interesting people with different perspectives and ideas and start to understand what it means to participate as a member of a community. Of course, social occasions were also a highlight, with Dewey’s, RATT, Dinwoodie Lounge and the Power Plant being regular stops along the way,” said Jody and Ken. 

During his time at university, Ken was a volunteer at CJSR, the university radio station. Jody was lucky enough to have her grandmother attend a class with her after she retired and wanted to see what university life was like. With Jody being the first person in her family to attend university, it was a mystery to her grandmother who was thrilled to have been given the opportunity to audit a Political Science class Jody was enrolled in. 

Jody and Ken recently decided to create an endowment fund that established two scholarships —  the Mary Peck Scholarship for Education and the Bauer Maxfield Family Scholarship for Business which will support students in the Faculty of Education and the Alberta School of Business each year. 

“Our education at the University was instrumental in our success as professionals and our ability to give back now makes us grateful. We believe our gifts will have a great impact on a student’s ability to achieve their goals. This is inspiring to us. We’ve been fortunate to enjoy a lot of personal success and we wanted to help others who have an ambition to attend the University of Alberta,” said Jody.

While they both now live in Ontario and have had much success in their careers, they wished to create a lasting impact for students of their alma mater. “We both came from families without many financial resources that had roots in rural and small communities in Alberta and we want to help in some small way to remove financial burden experienced by students and give them a chance they might otherwise struggle to attain,” said Ken.

Jody and Ken are also members of the Quaecumque Vera Honour Society at the University of Alberta. This society honours those who have arranged a future gift to the University. Jody and Ken’s legacy includes a special gift in their will for the University. 

The Alberta School of Business greatly appreciates the continued support from Jody and Ken and the many donors who make it possible for us to deliver an outstanding learning experience for our students.