By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
With more than 600,000 members across the globe, the University of Illinois boasts the world's largest alumni community.
Among those hundreds of thousands of alums, it's a good bet that the families of Frank and Margery Romweber and Fred and Dorine Santogrossi invested more tuition dollars to the Urbana-Champaign campus than any other family.
Altogether, four of the Romweber kids (from Hazel Crest, Illinois) and five of the Santogrossi siblings (from Springfield) eventually matriculated to the Urbana-Champaign campus, earning a total of 10 degrees. A niece joined her aunts and uncles with two more diplomas in the 1990s.
The two Illinois graduates who link the families together—John Santogrossi (B.S. in Biology, '76, and M.D., '80) and Jane Romweber Santogrossi (B.A. in Business, '75)—are particularly indebted to their alma mater. Married for 41 years and residents of Atlanta, Georgia since 1987, John is a retired emergency room physician while Jane is a founding partner and senior consultant for Meridian Compensation Partners, a firm that specializes in all areas of executive and director compensation.
So grateful are they of their educations, the Santogrossis became benefactors of a garden at UI's Arboretum (South Lincoln and Florida Avenues). A plaque with their names adorns a rock at the entrance near the Linden Allée.
The Santogrossis first met at instructor Aurora Villacorta's UI ballroom dancing class. Was it love at first step? They won't say.
"I'm not quite John Travolta, but I'm pretty damn good," John joked.
Said Jane about the 60s-something dancers, "We do quite a few spins, but very few dips."
A myriad of pleasant campus memories from 40-plus years ago still flow.
"I loved being on my own at a big, beautiful university, making friends, building up to a career, and meeting my husband very late in the game," Jane said. "I felt like I belonged. It's where I prepared for life."
As a student, Jane earned spending money as a typist for famed UI electrical engineering professor Nick Holonyak, inventor of the laser diode (used in cell phones and CD and DVD players).
John worked for a time as a student, too, in campus food service, but his favorite memories stem from Illini football and basketball games.
"I especially remember Lonnie Perrin throwing across the field to George Uremovich for a long kickoff return that went for a touchdown (versus Indiana in 1972)," he said.
The Santogrossis have been avid cheerleaders and financial supporters for their beloved university.
"We've been season ticket holders for football and basketball for nearly all these years," John said.
Originally, they were gifting a thousand dollars a year.
"Then a guy we knew told us 'You know, if you give more, you get all of these benefits,'" Jane said. "So we raised our gift to the President's Council and Loyalty Circle levels."
"We like to make a difference in a positive way," she continued. "John is entirely into sports and I'm into education. Our interests converge at the University of Illinois."
"We want the U of I to remain the outstanding institution it has been and be top-notch in every way possible," John said.
In the 1990s, the Santogrossis endowed a women's basketball scholarship. Their most recent gift was a sizeable contribution to the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center.
"The Performance Center is about winning and branding and recruiting, and for those who might not otherwise get an education," Jane said. "Basically, we're buying into the vision. Even if you don't care that much about sports, we think that this will be good for the entire university. We see gifts of ten times what we're giving, we're just happy to do our part."
"Through thick and thin, it's not about the record and it's not about personalities," John said. "But we really think that with Josh Whitman as our athletics director and Lovie Smith and Brad Underwood as our football and basketball coaches, we're headed in the right direction."
"Josh is clear-eyed and he has a vision that we buy into," Jane said. "He says that it isn't about the level of gift that's given. I like that approach and that message."
In their spare time, the Santogrossis love to travel and explore the world, especially by bicycle. They've taken 16 trips to Europe, including an excursion to Switzerland last month. They're easy to spot, wearing bright orange and blue Illini cycling jerseys wherever they go.
"We've both biked since we were children," Jane said. "In terms of history and culture, our trip in Germany from Berlin to Dresden was great. The best wine and most fun group was in Burgundy (France). But the best scenery of them all was in Switzerland," Jane said.
When they retire, John and Jane are moving north, returning to their cherished roots in Champaign-Urbana.
"We want to go back to the Midwest, and Urbana seemed the logical choice," Jane said. "We have a place in downtown Chicago as well, so we'll have the best of both worlds."
