In the early 1970s, he proposed and promoted a plan to help poor families purchase rehabilitated houses in central Fort Wayne. In 22 years, Lincoln Improved Housing Corporation fixed up 270 houses in Fort Wayne and helped new owners buy them. Schools campaign Under Rolland's leadership, Lincoln National also pursued an ambitious and sometimes unpopular socal agenda. The best example began more than a dozen years ago, when the company financed a lawsuit against Fort Wayne Community Schools and the state to force wider integration of city schools. To some, compelling integration in Fort Wayne was Rolland's and the company's finest campaign.
Schools are unquestionably better.
Critics saw that court fight as a pre-eminent example of what's wrong with Lincoln, namely, swinging philanthropic millions as a bludgeon to reshape Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne Historical Society , sees problems and opportunities in the move of headquarters. He's seen numerous examples of top managers at Lincoln National guiding nonprofit groups with Fortune 500 expertise. But the company often used its enormous financial clout to dictate decisions to groups, he said. Lincoln has been so big that they've run everything. . . .