Allan Schimmel has made a generous gift commitment to support the Donald B. Johnson Development Fund, helping to ensure that political science students in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences continue to have access to life-altering realworld political experiences. His leadership contribution will not only help the Department continue—and expand—its commitment to excellence in political education, but will also honor the memory of a beloved professor, Don Johnson.

Allan was born in Sioux Center, a small town in the northwest corner of Iowa. He completed his undergraduate degree at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, in 1962 and that autumn entered the University of Iowa as a graduate student in political science. However, the allure and excitement of real-world politics soon led him to leave the UI for Washington, D.C., following an opportunity to serve as legislative assistant to Congressman Fred Schwengel from Iowa’s first district. When Schwengel failed to be re-elected, Allan resumed his studies in the Political Science Department, earning a master’s degree in 1966. He then directed Schwengel’s successful comeback campaign and returned to Washington and his former role for another six years. After Schwengel was again defeated, Allan became the aide to a different congressman for a few years before moving to a senior management role with the U.S. Railway Association, an organization created and chartered by Congress to reorganize a set of bankrupt railroads. He later became the Director of Federal Relations for Conrail and thereafter its Vice President–Administrative Services and Corporate Secretary. Allan retired in 1996, but has remained very involved with civic and charitable activities, among them serving on boards for Northwestern College, the Community College of Philadelphia, MAANA (which delivers meals to those homebound with HIV/AIDS), the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross, the Board of Visitors of Air University, the Presbytery of Philadelphia, the Committee of Seventy (a civic watchdog group), LyricFest, and the Maestro Circle Committee of the Philadelphia Orchestra.