PFW celebrates dedication of W. Paul and Carolyn Wolf Bridge

Purdue University Fort Wayne dedicated on Monday afternoon the pedestrian bridge across Crescent Avenue that connects its Main and Waterfield campuses. Now named the W. Paul and Carolyn Wolf Bridge, the recognition honors the Wolfs’ support of the university and commitment to Mastodon Athletics. Surrounded by student-athletes and coaches, Paul Wolf said he would like this span to also be viewed as the “Students’ Future Career Bridge.”

Even more than the honor, the Wolfs seemed to enjoy meeting the current Mastodons during a small reception afterward in the Development Building. Paul greeted more than a dozen student-athletes who were predominately products of northeast Indiana high schools, a theme important to the Wolfs.

“Our hope is that more local students will consider coming here to study and compete in the future,” Paul Wolf said. “I told several of them that they should go home and tell their mom and dad they did a real nice job. They are all just nice. When you have a faculty that is friendly, it flows through the students, and they in turn are going to produce that the rest of their lives and pass it on to their children.”

The Wolfs also enjoyed conversations with PFW coaches Maria Marchesano from women’s basketball, Steve Florio from women’s volleyball, and Jon Coffman from men’s basketball, along with Kelley Hartley Hutton, director of athletics.

“They very much believe in the university and its importance to our community,” Hartley Hutton said. “They are always about, `How can we keep the talented students here in Fort Wayne to pursue their education and grow their careers?’ They are community people, Fort Wayne people, who really want to help and see our young people be successful and have opportunities right here and hopefully stay here.”

Paul Wolf is an example of someone who stayed home in northeast Indiana and prospered. A 1950 graduate of Avilla High School, he served in the Korean War before returning to Indiana to begin a 43-year career as a bank examiner working in financial regulation. He joined Fort Wayne’s Home Loan Savings Bank in 1960, eventually becoming president and CEO. The institution grew to 10 offices and $420 million in assets before he retired in 1999.

Carolyn Wolf taught elementary school in a western suburb of Chicago before moving to Fort Wayne.

“I enjoy volleyball,” Carolyn Wolf said. “I’m excited to go to some games and support the local talent that we have here.”

During their retirement, the Wolfs have supported multiple Fort Wayne charities. Among the highlights, in 2020, the new W. Paul Wolf Rescue Mission was opened downtown, and a year later, Charis House, the Rescue Mission’s women’s shelter, was named for Paul’s mother Gladys and Carolyn. The Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum also dedicated the W. Paul Wolf War History Museum in 2023.

“I’m a firm believer in donating back to the community, the community that always treated me well in my business,” Wolf said. “I try to help the community in all ways.”