Awards

IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 2012

About Gary L. Byrkett

Gary L. Byrkett graduated from IUPUI in 1972 with a B.S. in engineering. In 2012, he received the IUPUI Spirit of Philanthropy Award for creating the Gary L. Byrkett Scholarship in Engineering and the Sharon K. Arvin Byrkett Scholarship in Social Work. Each award supports students with disabilities.

Byrkett hopes that by supporting students with disabilities to earn degrees and achieve further success, he will help change society's perceptions about disabled people. The beneficiaries of the scholarships will show others the importance of seeing people, not their disabilities. Byrkett's passion for helping those with disabilities come from his own personal experiences and those of his late wife, Sharon, who passed away in 2009. The couple met at a Muscular Dystrophy Association summer camp. Despite their disabilities, they both have led rich lives. Sharon was an advocate for people with disabilities. She served on the Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities, was the chairperson of the council’s Community Living Committee, was a delegate to the National Council for People with Disabilities and received the Council’s Community Spirit Award. She also was a support group facilitator for MDA and sometimes was just a plain volunteer helping the group out any way she could. Even facing a cancer diagnosis, she raised funds and participated in the Komen’s Race for the Cure. Byrkett worked at St. Francis Hospital, where he was manager of the steam and water plant.