Mick McGarvey ’63 is dedicated to providing the same first-rate educational adventure he got at Reed to future generations.
By Cara Nixon
October 2, 2026
Mick McGarvey ’63 recalls classmate Judy Bell ’63 saying while at Reed that she wasn’t a “casual person.” That stuck with Mick, because he isn’t either.
That’s been true across many areas of his life: academics, work, and, especially, his friendships. Even since young adulthood, he’s been steadfast and unfaltering in his loyalty—now, all these years later, he’s no different in his relationship with Reed. Since graduating with his degree in biology, he’s given over $26 million to the college, and he plans to leave the bulk of his estate to Reed in his will.
Mick, trained as an internal medicine physician, spent much of his career in the public sector in healthcare service administration roles, working at the New York City, New York State, and federal levels. Alongside his career, he’s served on the board of directors for non-profits, including the New York Academy of Medicine, The Greater New York Hospital Association, the New York Business Group on Health, and more.
He’s dedicated much of his resources to supporting the institution that was so integral to him.
“I realized as I was going through the school that I was getting a very good education, but it really hit me particularly hard when I got to medical school at University of Southern California School of Medicine,” Mick says. “A lot of my classmates were moaning and complaining about how hard it was, and I thought it was easy because of the rigor that Reed had exacted upon its students.”
In 2022, Mick even gifted his family home—the Corbin Park house, a historic Tudor-style home built in 1912 in Spokane, Washington—to Reed. He gave the generous gift to the college, he told The Spokesman-Review, not because of his affection for Reed, but out of “respect for what it does.”
Much of his gifts also go to the Michael R. McGarvey Scholarship Fund, a pool of money he plans to go to diverse groups.
“I've always been a fan of diversity,” he says. “I just think that one's life experience and certainly the student experience is enriched through diversity.”
Mick wants Reed to continue meeting the moment in the ways he knows it does best—through academic rigor and a robust liberal arts curriculum, which are the things that attracted him to the college in the first place.
As for the Reed students of today meeting their own moment, he says: “I hope Reed graduates carry with them pretty much the same things I got: a first-rate education and an intellectual curiosity in lots of things.”
His commitment to supporting Reed will allow that to not only continue, but grow.
