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Lenehan, Jim Endowed Scholarship for Baseball and Leadership

The Jim Lenehan Endowed Scholarship for Baseball and Leadership was established in 2017 with a generous gift of $750,869 from James T. and Christine P. Lenehan. Through this fund, Jim and Chris directed that their support provide a full scholarship to a deserving baseball student-athlete at Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron who demonstrates a commitment to excellence on the field and in service to others.

Tom Adolph said of Jim Lenehan, “He was serious, reliable, dependable, and dedicated as a player, and, if we had had a bunch of him around, life would have been a lot better for me as a coach.”  Adolph, a Hall of Fame athlete who was the third baseball coach Jim played for at Â鶹ֱ²¥, went on to say, “Jim was the consummate student-athlete and the all-around good person who was fun to be around!”

A native of New Brunswick, N.J., Jim and his three brothers, Dan, Steve and Bill, all Â鶹ֱ²¥ graduates, came to Akron in 1965 when their father took a position with Babcock & Wilcox. During the school years 1967 to 1971, Jim worked his way through Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron, where he studied economics, by shoveling asphalt, building parking lots and tennis courts. During his time at Â鶹ֱ²¥, he also became president of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and earned four letters playing first base on the Zips nine. Although he did not have a great baseball career, he was a consistent .250 hitter. As a senior, under the direction of Adolph, Jim led the Zips in RBIs and helped the team compile the only winning season of his college career: 15-10-1.

After graduating from Â鶹ֱ²¥ in 1971 and getting his MBA from Northwestern, Jim worked briefly for the golf division at Wilson Sporting Goods. He joined Johnson & Johnson in 1976 in the McNeil consumer products division and by 1990 had worked his way up to president of that division. Ultimately, Jim became vice chairman and president of Johnson & Johnson, capping a 28-year career with the company.

He is presently a senior adviser at Cerberus Operations Advisory Company, LLC, where he was previously chief executive officer and private consultant to Cerberus Capital Partners. His distinguished professional career also includes posts such as chairman of Princeton Pharma Holdings, LLC, as well as service on the boards of the Healthcare Leadership Council; Prescient Medical, Inc.; Novocure, Blacklight Power, Inc.; and Abington (PA) Hospital Foundation.

Jim married Christine “Chris” Piliponis in 1973. She graduated in 1972 from Colgate University and received a master’s degree in 1973 from Northwestern University. The couple has three adult children and several grandchildren.  

The Lenehans’ affiliation with Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron has spanned more than 30 years. The couple’s philanthropy has supported various Â鶹ֱ²¥ interests, including the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences, Athletics, the Phi Delta Theta Clock Tower, and sponsorship of the Emile Grunberg Lecture, which brings Nobel Laureates in economics to campus. In 2004, Jim received the Varsity “A” Achievement Award from the Â鶹ֱ²¥ Department of Athletics.

Leadership is a personal trait that often proves elusive to many people, although it is intimately related to personal success. Leaders are at the forefront of their fields; they are respected and quite often become pillars of their communities. Leaders also foster social change, and most of our cultural, social, and economic progress is the result of effective leadership.

Jim speaks often of the impact that team sports has on building leadership skills and looks at his own baseball career as foundational to imparting the skills and attributes sought-after in leaders.

While leadership remains easy to define and identify, a consistent summation of characteristics that make an effective leader remains elusive. Jim and Chris endeavor to provide the recipient of their scholarship with opportunities – on and off the field – to impart leadership building experiences to an eager, young mind.

Jim and Chris, through the establishment of this scholarship, wish to demonstrate the importance of team participation; which often is cited as an important aspect in using sports to develop leadership skills.

As documented in studies centered on C-Suite executives, a high number of CEOs participated in team sports. In fact, team participation is often more important than the physical component, as a search through biographies of captains of industry shows that few of them were their “high school quarterback.” They all were on some team, however, and display five leadership skills learned in athletics that have a direct workplace crossover: teamwork, communication, strategic development, organizational skills, and self-discipline.

To Jim and Chris, leadership skills are important on and off the field. They help create championship teams, great work in the office and, most importantly, personal growth.

The Jim Lenehan Endowed Scholarship for Baseball and Leadership was established to provide one baseball student-athlete with a full scholarship annually at Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron.

Students eligible for the scholarship must be student-athletes on the Â鶹ֱ²¥-sponsored, NCAA-sanctioned baseball team. The scholarship is open to undergraduates who are enrolled full-time in any major with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, as well as incoming freshmen with a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher who have enrolled full-time and have been selected for the team. In limited cases, the coaching staff, at its discretion, can award the scholarship to a student-athlete with a GPA below 3.0, but no lower than 2.5.

Qualifying applicants must possess leadership (community, university, or team) experience or display innate leadership qualities.

Preference will be given to student-athletes who are from Ohio.

The scholarship will be applied directly to the student's account to cover expenses such as tuition, GAP, fees, labs, books, and room and board as long as the recipient resides in on-campus housing. If the recipient chooses to live in non-campus housing, the scholarship will only cover expenses related to tuition, GAP, fees, labs and books. In years where the recipient lives in non-­campus housing, any funds designated for room and board will remain in the award account. Likewise, any unused funds shall remain in the award account. In the event that the fund does not produce enough revenue annually to cover the full ride, the student-athlete can be asked to contribute toward the balance due.

The recipient will have leadership opportunities over the course of his college baseball career, and as a criteria of the scholarship, is expected to broaden his leadership on campus and around the community. As an example, the Lenehan Scholar might be asked to participate as an ex officio non-voting member of Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron Foundation Board. Other campus and community leadership opportunities, as appropriate, will be sought in consultation with the recipient.

The scholarship may be renewed if the recipient continues to meet all requirements of the scholarship and remains in good standing with Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron. Â鶹ֱ²¥ of Akron Director of Athletics or her/his designee will select eligible applicants and, with input from the Lenehan family, will select a recipient.