Brenau mourns passing of former trustee David Seng
Former Brenau University Trustee David Francis Seng of Dahlonega, Georgia, died at his home July 13 after suffering from pulmonary fibrosis for three years. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years, Erin McCabe Seng, BU ’93, who also served on the university board; a daughter, Shannon Seng Van Horn; sons, Andrew and Matthew; daughter-in-law Celeste Hannah; son-in-law Jason Van Horn; and six grandchildren.
David Seng graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1963 and earned an MBA from Northwestern University. After service as a U.S. Navy lieutenant, he worked for a major Chicago financial institution as portfolio manager, a Southeast bank in pension and profit sharing management, and Wall Street investment banking firms. David retired in 1998 as a major stakeholder in and executive at in Atlanta-based investment firm Montag & Caldwell.
The Sengs, who settled in Georgia in 1973, began their contact with Brenau in 1993 when Erin enrolled in the interior design program. She was already on the board when another board member, who had a financial services background, stepped down. David seemed the obvious choice to fill the seat.
“Erin and I were both raised in families where contributing to the greater good was taught and practiced,” David Seng said in a 2015 interview for Brenau Window magazine (see The Other Half of We). “We are both ‘cradle Catholics,’ and, like many people of faith, we were raised to understand our role in life is to do what we can for our community.”