By Tom Spalding, Communications Volunteer
When you walk into the client waiting area of Boulevard Place Food Pantry these days, you are unlikely to see an individual photo of new director Robert “Bob” White on the wall that features his four predecessors.
What you will see is this group image where White is in the center frame, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other Pantry volunteers who serve on the board of directors.
“All of the previous four directors at the Pantry earned their recognition. For me, one day,” White smiles.
He suggests that after his three-year term is completed in 2028, accepting such a portrait would be OK. Right now, with the Pantry dealing with unprecedented challenges, it is not his focus. A lot of White’s approach to contributing at the Pantry ironically involves being behind the camera, not in front of it. In fact, it’s very possible that if you have stopped by the pantry anytime over the past decade with a donation of food, he snapped your picture.
White, a longtime professor and leader at Indiana University as well as a published author and photographer, created and built the Pantry’s Facebook account in the early 2010s. He’ll often upload his images of the daily goings-on at 4202 N. Boulevard Place, which serves the public three days a week (Wednesday drive-up and in-person shopping on Thursdays and Saturdays). His favorite images are donations (always welcome on Tuesdays), collaborations and volunteers of all types. (White collaborates with communications consultant and board member Tom Spalding on public relations initiatives and community engagement.)
“We do such neat stuff at the Pantry, and we see so many neat moments that I love to document,” White says. “I posted a picture on Facebook of a donor recently. We’d gotten a huge delivery that morning from Gleaners, multiple pallets weighing thousands of pounds, and then another significant supply from St. Vincent de Paul.
“And then this donor out for a walk with her dog stopped by with one pint or one quart of yogurt, you know … it all helps! We appreciate everybody who supports the pantry, whether it’s somebody who gives us a large chunk of money or some kid who brings in $2.50 that he or she collected from grade school. It’s all going to a worthy cause.”
White takes the helm as he winds down a long tenure as a professor, as well as serving as Dean and Department Chair, at Indiana University, Indianapolis. His academic interests have included political sociology, social movements, political violence and state terrorism. He earned his bachelor’s (1980), master’s (1982), and Ph.D. (1987) degrees from IU. An interest in Ireland and history led to his scholarly research on the Irish Republican Movement.
To the great benefit of all of us, his interest in history also led to a compelling documentary about the Pantry that is worth a watch. (White had a hands-on role in that history. A member of St. Thomas Aquinas, he was then President of the parish’s SVdP Conference and part of the team that, in 2011, identified and purchased the standalone building that now houses our current location. (John Juerling, Mark Varnau and Tom Quinn were also instrumental in that pursuit and purchase of the facility.)
Giving back has always been a family affair. White’s mother was a member of the SVdP Conference at St. Matthew, two of his sisters are involved in SVdP Indianapolis, and a nephew was the Vice President of SVdP Milwaukee. White first volunteered at the Pantry with his daughter during her elementary school days. His spouse, Terry White—a retiree from the Office of Research Administration at IU Indianapolis—also served on the Board and as a volunteer during a time of exceptional growth.
“One of the things about St. Vincent de Paul that’s really powerful,” White says, “is that yes, we’re here to serve people in need—but the deeper mission is about growing closer to God and Christ through that service.”
White credits much of his personal philosophy about helping the poor to the work of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He has been involved in the organization for several years. In all his roles, he loves getting to know people, which is one of the reasons why Matt Hayes (a fellow PhD) recommended him.
“Bob started out as a quantitative social scientist—he wanted to be a statistician,” Hayes says. “But he realized that if you really want to understand people, statistics can only go so far. The data provides a baseline, but you can gain a lot of critical insight by just talking to them. That’s why he’s such a good fit.”
“Bob’s humble approach to his work with St. Vincent de Paul reveals his faith and dedication to our primary purpose,” adds Paul Ainslie, president of the SVdP council. “To grow in holiness.”
White sees his new role not as a personal milestone, but as a continuation of the mission carefully built by his predecessors—at a time when the organization’s work is more vital than ever as client demand increases during a period when feeding the poor requires creativity due to external supply shortages.
He’ll continue to use the power of pictures, even if it’s not his own.
More on his bio may be found here.
