Awards
- Presidents Circle Laurel Pin - 2014
- Benefactor
- IU Indianapolis Spirit of Philanthropy Award - 1998
Helen Elizabeth Gibbons was born to John and Gertrude Gibbons on June 29, 1929, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. Gibbons received degrees in Business and Education from Villa Maria College and the University of Pittsburgh. She received her Doctorate of Education from Indiana University in 1960. Gibbons retired from Indiana University in 1990 after serving 30 years as a business and education faculty member at the Fort Wayne and Bloomington campuses. She was among the female pioneers of her time in the School of Business.
Gibbons was a lifetime member of the Indiana University Alumni Association, the IU Foundation President's Circle, The IU 1820 Society, and the Women in Philanthropy Women's Colloquium Steering Committee. Gibbons was a generous contributor to Indiana University, Habitat for Humanity, WonderLab, the American Red Cross, and St. Paul Catholic Center, where she was a founding member. She created the Gibbons/Mitchell Scholarship fund in 1992 to support finance students at the School of Business in Bloomington. She further established the Helen E. Gibbons Women's Fund at the IU Foundation in 1996. In 2004, she was recognized as the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the City of Bloomington for her involvement and philanthropy with a number of organizations.