Phil McCarthey receives the University of Utah Founders Day Honorary Award

Intermountain Catholic

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Philip McCarthey

SALT LAKE CITY — The University of Utah Alumni Association honored Philip McCarthey, along with four alumni, with the University of Utah Founders Day Honorary Award at the 2013 Founders Day Banquet Feb. 28. 

The University of Utah has been a big part of McCarthey’s family his whole life, he said.

"I’ve been involved with many young people, students, student athletes, and it’s a great pleasure to be associated with them, and it’s nice to be able to help them understand the importance of finishing their education. My siblings and I grew up in the shadow of the University of Utah and have been attending sporting events our whole lives, but we’ve also been involved in the University of Utah community as a whole," said McCarthey. "So it’s a very special award for me."

McCarthey, a member of Saint Ambrose Parish, graduated from Gonzaga University in 1974.

"Although he is not a University of Utah alumnus, he has been a donor for 21 years and is a former Crimson Club board of directors’ member," said Nanette Richard, alumni relations director, adding that McCarthey has given to the school in many ways. For example, the indoor practice football field on Guardsman Way is named the Thomas Kearns McCarthey Field in his father’s memory, he has supported the Huntsman Cancer Institute, and this year the McCarthey family gave $2 million that enabled the university to unveil an on-campus track and field facility.

McCarthey also is active in the wider community. He has served on several boards and committees, including chairman of the Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Company, the Cathedral of the Madeleine restoration project committee, Gonzaga University Trustees, Chairman of Utah Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and founder of multiple sclerosis fundraising events; and Board of Trustees of Rowland-Hall/St. Marks. The Rowland-Hall St. Mark’s lower school was named after Phil McCarthey.

"Phil McCarthey epitomizes the wonderful qualities of the McCarthey family," said Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, Diocese of Salt Lake City vicar general emeritus. "I knew their mother well and she was a soul of generosity and invested so much in this community. And Phil, like the rest of the family, has really seen Utah as an important strategy for their charitable giving.

"The McCarthey family has been tremendously generous to Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Catholic Community Services, the Madeleine Choir School, J.E. Cosgriff Memorial School and so many other causes, and Phil, as the senior, has been the leader," said Msgr. Fitzgerald. "He always reflects a calm, patient and gentlemanly approach; he is friendly, hospitable and really reflects the qualities of his mother. I think it is wonderful he is being honored."

Monsignor Joseph Mayo, rector and pastor of the Cathedral of the Madeleine, said after the sale of the "Salt Lake Tribune," the McCarthey family became interested in supporting the institutions that were important to them.

"As head of the McCarthey foundation, Phil carries on the mission and goal given to him and his siblings by his parents," Msgr. Mayo said.

The McCarthey siblings learned the importance of being involved and "it’s vital that people have resources whether they be time, talent, treasure, or continue to be involved and understand that they walk in the footprints of those who came before them," said McCarthey. "We’ve been fans and committed to the university all our lives, and part of this award came about as I have helped a couple of people that would not have been able to either attend the University of Utah or have the entire university experience."

McCarthey was in kindergarten when J.E. Cosgriff Memorial opened and was a member of the school’s first eighth-grade graduating class. After college, he spent most of his career in the insurance and financial services.

McCarthey married his wife, Sandra, in 1982. They have two daughters.

"From the time my daughters could crawl, their lives have been involved in the University of Utah attending sporting events," said McCarthey.