Philanthropist
1925
Citation:
On Tracy William McGregor for that during more than 30 years he has served the poor and unfortunate in the great City of Detroit; for that in the spirit of the Master he has served them in love and kindliness; for that he has for the poor sacrificed the position and the wealth that might be his; for that he has served the City of Detroit in all good ways; for that when his heart was young and his hopes were high he abandoned the decoration which schools are accustomed to bestow upon their students in order that he might receive the decoration which God gives to those who imitate the Master, a school, the University of Detroit confers the scholastic degree of Doctor of Laws. Background from Tracy W. McGregor Collection, Archives of Labor and urban Affairs: "As the guiding force behind the Thursday Group, an informal club of influential businessmen and professionals working behind the scenes to promote reform, he helped spearhead improvement in housing, schools, criminal justice and services for the mentally and physically disabled. In 1917, he helped organized the Detroit Community Union and Patriotic Fund, forerunners of today's United Way for Southeastern Michigan." "The crowning achievement of McGregor philanthropy occurred in 1925 when he and his wife (Katherine Whitney, daughter of David Whitney, Jr., created the McGregor Fund to channel their enormous wealth to social service during their lifetimes and beyond." Commencement, University of Detroit, June 12, 1925.