John E. Sampson (’63)

Alumni Medal of Honor

After graduating from NWU in 1963, John E. Sampson earned an MBA from Indiana University in 1964.  He spent the next four and a half years working with the Committee for Economic Development in Washington, D.C. before beginning his 27-year career in corporate planning and development including leadership positions in three Fortune 300 companies: General Mills, Inc., Central Soya Co., and International Multifoods Corp.  At Central Soya Co., John also filled the position of Corporate Secretary and had administrative responsibility for its Law and Public Relations Departments.  At International Multifoods Corp. he also served as Corporate Treasurer.

Currently, as President of Sampson & Associates, John helps clients across the country buy and sell businesses.  So far, he has negotiated and structured over 100 acquisitions and divestures with combined sales of nearly $3 billion.  Because of these achievements in business, John has been listed in Who’s Who in America for the past eighteen years.  In 2003, he embarked on a new adventure: writing a book.  Entitled How to Sell Your Business and Get the best Price for It, it was published in 2003.

Outside the business world, John has been active in various community projects.  He has been President and Member of the Board of Directors of the Indiana University School of Business Alumni Association; Chairman of the Golden Valley, MN Planning Commission; and Vice President of Finance and Member of the Board of Directors of the Anthony Wayne Council, Boy Scouts of America.  He has also continuously been involved with the United Methodist Church, filling positions ranging from Lay Leader to Delegate to the World Methodist Conference.

The Sampson family’s ties to Nebraska Wesleyan date to the 1930’s, when his father, Dr. Delbert Sampson, who later became Dean of Men at the University, was a student at NWU.  As a student, John was involved in a variety of activities, including Student Senate, Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, and the Washington Semester program.  As an alumnus he has continued to support NWU in a variety of ways.  He has served on both the Board of Trustees and the Board of Governors, and has given generously to the University.  These gifts include Callen Seminar Room in Cochrane-Woods Library in 1973, the sculpture of the Cross and Flame behind Old Main in 1983, and Sampson Plaza at the 50^th and St. Paul entrance to campus in 1997.  John also received the NWU Alumni Loyalty Award in 1987.

About his time at NWU John says, “…my experiences as a student…have enabled me to achieve career heights and contribute much more to the communities in which I have lived (as well as the churches which I attended) than I would have been able to without my Wesleyan experience.”

Please click here to return to the alumni success stories page.