Note: This message was originally sent on April 17, 2019
There is just a bit of charm and ZagSpirit in this Alumnus, enjoy…
“My wife used to ask me, ‘Art, why do we write these checks every month — why don’t we just do it at the end of the year?’ and I’d tell her it’s my monthly reminder to be generous,” Dugoni explained. “I enjoy hearing from students who’ve received the scholarship I support and how much it has affected or helped their lives. I give and I personally mentor young people because it’s all very fulfilling to me.” “Not bad for a 94-year-old delinquent, jobless DDS,” Art laughed.
Arthur Dugoni (’47) didn’t choose Gonzaga University. It could be argued though, that the fates that brought him to Spokane did so with the knowledge that his experience here would have a tremendous impact on our community. It would also launch a 66-year marriage that led to seven children, fifteen grandchildren and seven great-grandkids, a truly remarkable career in dentistry and education, and nearly a half-century of generosity toward GU.
In 1943 the U.S. Navy was in need of trained, commissioned officers as part of the American military involvement in World War II. This need was answered by the V-12 Navy College Training Program, which enrolled students in colleges around the country for officer training. Dugoni’s participation in the program originally began at the University of San Francisco while he was finishing his senior year of high school. After graduation, he was transferred to Gonzaga University.
“It was a whole new world for me,” said Dugoni, “I was 17 going on 18 and I’d hardly ever left San Francisco. We were just kids. I was rather anxious about what the future was going to hold for me.”
Spokane presented many new and transformational experiences for Dugoni. Even now, Dugoni carries with him many of the lessons he learned at Gonzaga, namely, the significance of having an impact as a person for others. “The most important thing you can do is touch the life of another person,” said Dugoni. “When somebody says that you made a difference — that’s more meaningful than anything.”