Philanthropist Claire B. Phillips to Be Honored With UC s Award for Excellence

Cincinnati philanthropist Claire Brunswick Phillips will be honored with the University of Cincinnati Award for Excellence at UC’s afternoon Commencement Ceremony at 2 p.m., Saturday, June 12, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center.

The award recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the purposes and ideals of the university.

Phillips is described as a woman ahead of her times for working side-by-side with her late husband, Charles, to build and grow their business, Phillips Supply Company, back in the 1950s. She started flying for the company, taking employees and customers to suppliers around the country to see the quality of the operation. She served as treasurer and corporate pilot for the company and is credited with becoming the first female commercial pilot to log one million miles.

Since her semi-retirement from the company, she regularly works at the office every Friday. She has served as an active philanthropist in Greater Cincinnati, supporting the arts, medicine, youth organizations and education.

“Claire has made a tremendous impact not only on the lives of the students who walk the halls and fly the skies around Clermont College, but also on the lives of countless individuals in our community,” says Clermont College Dean Emeritus James F. McDonough.

A native Cincinnatian, Phillips is a high school graduate of Cincinnati Public’s Hughes Center, studied art at UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), and briefly worked in the medical arts field before her corporate business career in aviation took off.