More details offered  on $45M in gifts to UD’s $750M fund-raising effort

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Board of Trustees member Carol A. Ammon ‘11H and Marie E. Pinizzotto, M.D. ‘08M, shared their thoughts via video with the crowd at the Celebration of Innovation and Inspiration event held l to help launch Delaware First: The Campaign for the University of Delaware. (UD photo).
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The University of Delaware announced major gifts to the $750 million  Delaware First fund-raising effort.

At an event earlier this month, details of three gifts to the university,  totaling $45 million,  were announced. The gifts came from  Board of Trustees member Carol A. Ammon and Marie E. Pinizzotto, M.D.; Board of Trustees member Stuart Grant and, his wife, Suzanne Grant; and Board of Trustees member Kenneth C. Whitney and, his wife, Elizabeth K. Whitney.

As part of Delaware First, work is underway on a 200,000  square foot biopharmaceutical innovation and life sciences research structure on the STAR Campus. The $25 million gift from Ammon and Pinizzotto will support this six-story, $156 million project.  The building  will be named for Ammon and Pinizzotto.  

Ammon retired as the founder of DuPont spin-off Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and has served as a UD trustee since 2013.  Pinizzotto. served as a trustee and chair of the board of Christiana Care and a member of the Healthcare Advisory Board at Harvard University. Marie is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Carol A. Ammon Foundation and has held numerous executive positions in the pharmaceutical and women’s health industries. She earned her MBA at UD in 2008.

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In 2013, Carol and Marie made a $1 million gift to support the College of Health Sciences complex, part of UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) campus. That same year, Carol was the benefactor responsible for the largest individual gift in the history of Christiana Care with a gift to the Wilmington Hospital Transformation Project.

Stuart and Suzanne Grant made  a $10 million gift to establish the Stuart M. and Suzanne B. Grant Graduate College Fund in support of this initiative. The fund will advance graduate education and develop the concept of a graduate college.

The university will name this collaborative initiative the Stuart M. and Suzanne B. Grant Graduate College. Their support will assist the university in expanding faculty, increasing graduate enrollment and offering diverse educational opportunities and career pathway preparation for doctoral students.

Grant is the co-founder and managing director of Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., a Wilmington-based law firm that specializes in the representation of institutional investors. Suzanne is Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Delaware Public Employees Retirement System and has spent the past 35 years working in the investment industry. Suzanne also holds senior positions with The Jewish Federations of North America.

The Grants first became involved with UD when  Stuart Grant started the pre-veterinary curriculum through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in 2009 as a part-time student. In 2011, Delaware Governor Jack Markell appointed Stuart as a Trustee of the University.

In 2012, the Grants made a $1 million gift to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources to develop and support an Equine Studies Program. In 2014, the Grants made a $1.5 million gift to the Department of Athletics and Recreation Services to support renovations to the Delaware Mini Stadium. The stadium was renamed the Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium.

Ken and Liz Whitney made  a $10 million gift to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation Services. In recognition of this gift, the university will create and name the Whitney Athletic Center.  The center will focus on conditioning, athletic training, sports medicine, nutrition, and wellness, and also provide academic support, leadership development and career preparation for student-athletes.

In 1988, Ken Whitney joined the investment firm Blackstone as one of its earliest partners and worked there for 25 years until his retirement in April 2013. Since then, he has managed a private family investment office focused on startup businesses, and has led numerous entertainment projects.

Ken is a 1980 graduate of the Lerner College of Business and Economics and has served on the UD Board of Trustees since 2007.

In 2005, the Whitneys created the Whitney Family Scholarship to support an incoming freshman who is majoring in accounting, involved in athletics and demonstrates genuine financial need.  In 2011, the Whitneys established the Whitney Family Endowed Chair for the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems. Also in 2011, Ken developed the Whitney Challenge designed to encourage young alumni to support UD.

(From the University of Delaware’s UDaily)

 

 
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