A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
University of Southern California Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Leslie and Ronald Sherwin pledged $50 million to establish the Ronald and Leslie Sherwin Initiative, a program focused on environmental research and education programs, and pay for 10 professorships in the field of ecosystem conservation. The gift will also support research and educational programs, graduate fellowships, conferences, and other events.
Ron Sherwin is president of Sherwin Incorporated, his family’s chemical manufacturing company, in South Gate, Calif. He earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from USC Dornsife in international relations. The Sherwins previously gave the college $1 million to back student research programs.
University of Kentucky
Karen and Stanley Pigman pledged more than $34.5 million to support the College of Engineering, which will be named for the donors. Of the total, $10 million will go toward renovating and expanding an engineering building, and the remainder will support two scholarships, a professorship, research, and other programs within the engineering college.
Stanley Pigman founded several coal mining and related companies including Buck Creek, Delaware Resources, Mackey Development, and Pigman Coal Sales. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from the College of Engineering in 1981. He started his career as a project engineer with the Sierra Coal Company.
In addition, John Maze Stewart gave the university $10 million to back its Gatton College of Business and Economics. University officials named the Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods for the donor in recognition of his gift. Stewart founded MiddleGround Capital, an international private-equity firm, in 2016. He worked for the Toyota Motor Corporation for 18 years starting as an hourly line worker and later moving into management positions.
Montana Technological University
Lisa and Ryan Lance gave $31 million to support scholarships, a professorship, education and research programs, and other efforts. University officials plan to rename the School of Mines and Engineering the Lance College of Mines and Engineering in September.
Ryan Lance has served as chairman and CEO of the oil- and gas-exploration corporation ConocoPhillips Company since 2012. He put himself through college by working on oil rigs in Wyoming before earning a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the university in 1984.
Rowan University
Gerald Shreiber gave $30 million to establish the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine, which is expected to welcome its first class of students in 2025. In 2019, he gave Rowan $3 million to establish the Shreiber Family Pet Therapy Program. Shreiber is chairman of J&J Snack Foods Corporation, in Pennsauken, N.J.
Pace University
Pamela and Rob Sands gave $25 million to establish the Sands College of Performing Arts, which will bring under one entity the university’s degree programs in acting, directing, musical theater, commercial dance, production and design for stage and screen, and stage management.
Rob Sands is chairman of the Board of Directors of Constellation Brands, a beer, wine, and spirits company that his late father, Marvin Sands, founded in 1945 as the Canandaigua Wine Company. It was renamed in 2000. Rob Sands earned a law degree from Pace in 1984 and currently serves as chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees.
Allbritton Journalism Institute
Robert Allbritton pledged $20 million to establish this nonprofit organization that aims to train aspiring reporters to produce fact-based, nonpartisan journalism on government and politics. The institute plans to offer a free, two-year fellowship program.
Fellows will receive an annual stipend of $60,000 and work alongside reporters and editors on the institute’s staff to produce a digital news publication that is scheduled to launch in the fall.
Allbritton is executive chairman of Perpetual Capital Partners, a private investment firm in Arlington, Va. In 2007 he founded Politico, a news outlet that covers politics and policy in the United States and internationally. He sold the company to the German publishing firm Axel Springer in 2021. Earlier in his career, he led Allbritton Communications, which owned several ABC-affiliated television stations in Washington, D.C., and Riggs National Corporation, the parent company of Riggs Bank, which merged with PNC Bank in 2005.
University of Pennsylvania School of Arts & Sciences
Brett and Daniel Sundheim gave $10 million to help international students. Of the total, $9 million will create the Sundheim International Scholars Fund and provide financial aid for international students. The remaining $1 million will be used to establish the Sundheim Penn First Plus International Opportunity Fund, which will offer additional resources to international students who are the first in their family to attend college or come from families with modest incomes.
Daniel Sundheim founded D1 Capital, an investment firm in New York. He previously served as chief investment officer at Viking Global Investors and started his career at Bear Stearns in 1999 after graduating from the university’s Wharton School.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.
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