Jerry Logan is the Supreme Court justice of Indiana University alumni.

So say those who’ve known him as a perpetual booster and board member for about 50 years.

Of course, the honorary title is not because he hands down judicial rulings.

Dr. Jerry Logan and Terri Logan established an endowed scholarship to benefit fine arts at IU East.

It’s because he has garnered so much respect through decades of continuous service on local and statewide alumni boards.

It’s because he is a hands-on, tireless worker who is laser-focused on helping more students get into the Indiana University system — whether it’s at Bloomington, IU East or any IU campus.

It’s because he and his wife, Terri, give so generously to help students in optometry and the arts, fields that they studied at IU Bloomington and then turned into highly successful careers.

In fact, they recently endowed the Jerry & Terri Logan Fine Art Scholarship at IU East with gifts totaling $50,000.

The scholarship is designed to help more IU East students to achieve success — and also to lead the way to more gifts. “We hope that our scholarship will entice others to either join our scholarship or start one of their own in fine arts,” Jerry Logan said.

“We both feel that we owe IU a lot and want to give back. We are excited about the opportunity to introduce students to art in hopes that some will decide to make it their career,” he added.

Terri agrees: “It’s the perfect place to help, to give back to the community and artists … make the journey a little easier and more likely,” she said.

The scholarship for undergraduates in fine arts is the first for IU East, King believes.

“Their goal is to truly make an impact for fine arts students at IU East. Each year, they look forward to meeting with the scholarship recipient to hear how their classes are going,” King said. “This gives the scholarship recipient the opportunity to learn more about the Logans and why they created the scholarship. It also gives the student a chance to thank them for their generosity. We are grateful for the support the Logans provide our students at IU East.”

The Logans both lived in Winchester and knew each other during their high school years, but she was most often away at a college-prep school. They connected during a fateful summer event after her senior year. “We danced one dance and that was it,” she said about the beginning of their 55-year partnership in life.

They settled in Richmond, where they raised two children, Ryan and Greg. She worked in psychotherapy for nearly two decades, often blending art forms into her treatment, before turning her attention to creating unique pieces of jewelry as a full-time artist.

Jerry Logan opened his optometrical practice in 1969 and soon started serving on IU alumni boards.

His involvement with IU East reaches back to the mid-1960s when he took a class during a summer break. Classes then were held at Earlham College — and IU East didn’t officially become a regional site of the Indiana University system until 1971.

“I’ve seen it go from one building to five,” he boasts. “It’s been very enjoyable to see how that has benefited the community.”

It’s also given him great joy to serve in every role on alumni boards.

He can’t remember the last year he didn’t serve as secretary of a local board. “They think I am kind of a Supreme Court justice,” he jokes. “I have been secretary forever.”

The supreme designation certainly has its merits, said Terry Wiesehan, director of Alumni and Campus Ceremonies at IU East. Everyone else serves two- and three-year terms, but, “He doesn’t rotate off,” Wiesehan said. “He is amazing.”

His office-holding reaches into service clubs, too, such as the Kiwanis and Jaycees. “After so many years being so involved, I kind of take it for granted,” Terri Logan said. “He’s a lovely, generous man.”

Logan’s role now with the regional alumni board involves compiling minutes after meetings and sending out the next agenda to members.

IU East recently merged its alumni chapters that serve the campus and Eastern Central Indiana, renaming the board to the East Region Chapter of the IU Alumni Association.

Logan also has served on IU’s optometry board in every major role.

He has served several terms on the executive council of the IU Alumni Association and also been on the IU Optometry Dean’s Advisory Council. He is a recipient of the 2018 IU School of Optometry Foley House Basement Key Award, presented to an alumnus/a who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and/or service to the school. In honor of his service to the School of Optometry, he was awarded an IU Bicentennial Medal in 2020. The bicentennial medals were awarded to organizations and individuals who, through their personal, professional, artistic, or philanthropic efforts, broadened the reach of IU around the state, nation, and world.

In 2013, the Logans were included into the Presidents Circle which honors Indiana University’s most generous donors. Many of these men and women have helped define the very character of IU. Lifetime membership is offered to individuals and households that have irrevocably transferred assets to Indiana University.

Perpetuity and leadership are important to the Logans.

“My wife and I feel strongly about the importance of education. Having her degree in art, we wanted to encourage (students) to explore the possibilities,” Jerry Logan said.

They want to help IU East in part because it is a school of possibilities for so many people in Richmond and the surrounding area, he said. “It’s offered education to a lot who wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”

The Logans also have endowed a similar scholarship for aspiring optometrists at the IU School of Optometry.

Jerry Logan is grateful about what his IU degrees have meant professionally — and personally.

“It just changed my whole life. I met friends, grew as a person,” he said. “I have loved my profession and helping people. IU made that possible.”

Jerry and Terri Logan still spend a lot of time in Bloomington, where they own half of a duplex.

They enjoy the large variety of restaurants, concerts and activities there. They are longtime season-ticket holders for Hoosiers basketball and football.

Both are winding down their careers.

“Until COVID hit, I was working full time,” Jerry Logan said.

Drs. Logan & Bailey Optometrists was forced to close for a while and he then started working three days a week after it reopened.

“I still enjoy what I do,” Jerry Logan said. “It’s worked out well.”

Terri Logan is a nationally recognized jewelry artist who semi-retired two years ago. “I quit doing shows and stayed with a handful of galleries (that display and sell her works),” she said. “I make what I want … It’s all my choice, my time, when I want to make it.”

She is the owner of Terri Logan Studios. She has received many awards and prestigious gallery placements, including regular representation in the annual SOFA exhibitions.

Previously, she also served as a member of the Art Advisory Committee at IU East and as a member of the Whitewater Valley Chapter of the Alumni Association.

The Logans also encourage others to give when they can.

“We ask you to support fine arts by considering making a gift to the scholarship fund we have created,” Jerry Logan said.

For information on how to contribute, contact Paula Kay King, director of Gift Development, at (765) 973-8331 or pkayking@iue.edu.