As a high school student in a small Iowa town, Phyllis Peters Look ’51 did not think she would ever attend college.
It was only after an aunt living in Detroit called and said she would pay for Peters’ college education if she came out to Detroit and lived with her that it became an option.
“It was not said outright,” Peters remembered, “but it was understood that I would attend either University of Detroit or Mercy College of Detroit.”
Peters, who enjoyed a bookkeeping class she took in high school, liked the idea of becoming an accountant and the curriculum for it offered by University of Detroit, so she made her choice.
Almost seven decades later, Peters is, like her aunt, a benefactor for those who want an excellent education. She has spent years supporting the University with her time, talents and treasure. She and her late husband, Cal Look, have been very generous to the University. The two have set up a scholarship bearing her name; a second scholarship in Look’s name came from his estate. Peters has also included a significant gift for the University in her estate planning.
“I think it is important,” she said. “There is nothing better than a good education to help you succeed in any way, whether it’s financial or spiritual. Education always makes the difference.”
So at 17, Peters moved from Iowa to Detroit and threw herself into studying. She knew from the first semester that she wanted to major in accounting, even if was something few women did at the time.
“I remember going to my auditing professor in my senior year and saying, ‘I’m going to graduate in June, what am I going to do then?’” Peters said.
The professor told her she was going to work for one of the Big Eight international CPA firms. “But they don’t hire girls,” Peters lamented, to which the advisor replied, “They’ll hire you.”
He was right. Early in her last semester, Peters made appointments to interview with four public accounting firms operating in Detroit. She received offers from the first three firms, so she cancelled the fourth. She chose a company that today is Deloitte and had a groundbreaking career with the company for 42 years, beginning on the audit staff in Detroit and culminating as Director of Professional Standards.
Throughout her career, she maintained a relationship with the University, speaking to students about careers in accounting and serving as the first woman President of University of Detroit’s Alumni Board.
In retirement, Peters has continued to be involved with the University. She has mentored Business students, served on the College of Business Administration’s Board of Advisors and helped students hone their job interview skills with the University’s Career Education Center.
Peters was focused on her career and it wasn’t until she was in her 30s that she met the man who would be her husband. She was at a client’s office for a meeting, but the client’s previous meeting was running late and she was told she would have to wait. A salesman who had an appointment with the same person after her, was told he would have to wait, too. He introduced himself to her; his name was Cal Look.
“So he turned to me and said, ‘Shall we go get a cup of coffee while we wait?’ ” Peters said sure.
The two discovered that though they had never seen each other before, they worked two floors apart in the same building. The coffee went well, and Look asked if they could do it again.
“I was busy with some client deadlines that had to be met,” Peters said. “I didn’t have time for coffee with someone I hardly knew.” But Look was persistent and the two started dating. It turns out Look, who was from a longtime Detroit family — his father was a close friend of Bob Calihan, whose name graces Detroit Mercy’s Calihan Hall — and wanted to attend University of Detroit, too, but his father insisted he attend Notre Dame.
Peters introduced her husband to the special world of University of Detroit Mercy and the two were fixtures at basketball games and other University events for years. He grew to love the University as much as she did, and in his will he left $300,000 to Detroit Mercy for expendable scholarships. All funds in expendable scholarships are awarded to students. This gift provides four $10,000 scholarships each year until the funds are fully expended, which Peters said will be the year her husband would have turned 100.
Some were surprised that such a large gift would go to Detroit Mercy, seeing that Look had not attended the University. But a friend explained it this way: “Cal was very proud of you and what you have accomplished,” the friend said. “And in a large part it’s a result of your University of Detroit education.”
Peters agrees with her late husband’s assessment.
“I had a great education,” she said. “But I probably didn’t fully understand at the time the Jesuit spirit that pervaded the school and everything I did there. As I matured, I began to understand the importance of service and giving back that both the Jesuits and the sisters of Mercy bring to all the University does. I give because I think it’s very important to keep that spirit alive.”
The Campaign for University of Detroit Mercy is raising funds to make a Detroit Mercy degree more affordable to students. Please consider making a gift toward the $100-million goal online or by calling 313-993-1250. Gifts of any size can make a major difference.
