Founders Page

Robert H. Mckinney

Founder, McKinney Family Foundation

"Doing well by doing good"

A Life of Service and Achievement

An attorney, entrepreneur, banker, public servant, and civic leader, Robert H. McKinney lived by his motto: "Doing well by doing good." For more than 75 years in an exemplary career, he gave back to the City of Indianapolis, the State of Indiana, the nation, and the world in countless ways.

Legacy in numbers

Quantifying a lifetime of impact and service

75+

Years of Service

Decades of dedication to community and country

75+

Years of Service

Decades of dedication to community and country

200+

McKinney Scholars

Future leaders funded through Naval Academy program

200+

McKinney Scholars

Future leaders funded through Naval Academy program

100+

Attorneys

Grown under his leadership at Bose McKinney & Evans

100+

Attorneys

Grown under his leadership at Bose McKinney & Evans

Timeline of Achievement

Tracing a remarkable journey of service and impact

01

1925-1943

Early Life & Education

Born in Indianapolis on November 7, 1925, to E. Kirk and Irene McKinney. Graduated from Shortridge High School in just three years in 1943, demonstrating early academic excellence.

1943-1949

Naval Career & Service

Sworn in as midshipman at the United States Naval Academy in 1943. Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1946 and served until 1949 on a destroyer in the Pacific. Briefly served on General Douglas MacArthur's staff, visiting Japanese ports and meeting with officials.

02

03

1949 – 1953

Legal Education & JAG Corps

Enrolled at Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis, working by day and attending night classes, until recalled for the Korean War. He transferred to IU Bloomington to graduate early and married Arlene “Skip” Allsopp in 1951, then served two years in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

1953 – 1963

Private Legal Practice

Returning to Indianapolis after the war, he joined McHale, Patrick, Cook & Welch and was made partner just five years later, building a reputation for excellence in business, governmental, and educational law.

04

05

1963 – 1977

Co‑Founding Bose McKinney & Evans

In 1963, he partnered with three colleagues to found Bose McKinney & Evans, serving public and private clients. Over the next decade, the firm expanded to over 100 attorneys, guided by McKinney’s ethos of “doing well by doing good.”

1977 – 1980

Federal Regulatory & Global Banking Leadership

Appointed by President Carter as chair of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, he drove thrift‑industry deregulation and community lending initiatives. After 1979, he was re‑elected chairman of First Federal Savings & Loan and then advised the Soviet Union on establishing its banking system.

06

07

1989 – 2013

Indiana University Service & Philanthropy

Appointed to the Indiana University Board of Trustees in 1989 and serving as board president in 1993–94, he later founded the McKinney Family Foundation in 2010 to promote environmental sustainability. In 2011, his transformational gift led to the renaming of IU’s law school as the Robert H. McKinney School of Law, and in 2013 he established the McKinney Scholars Fund for Naval Academy overseas study programs.

2013 – Present

Naval Scholars & Philanthropy

Founded the McKinney Scholars Fund to send U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen abroad and, through the McKinney Family Foundation, advances clean‑energy and civic‑education initiatives in Indiana. He’s been honored with the ADL’s 2014 Man of Achievement Award, the 2017 IU Herman B. Wells Visionary Award, a 2019 IU Bicentennial Medal, and holds multiple honorary degrees.

08

The McKinney Family Legacy

As notable as his business achievements and philanthropic endeavors have been, nothing surpassed the pride he felt for and the joy he received from his family, as a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

In 1951 McKinney married Arlene Frances (Skip) Allsopp. Together, McKinney's five children continue his legacy by leading the McKinney Family Foundation, ensuring his vision for a better world lives on.