SU Thanks Perdue-Kresge Donors, Celebrates $1.6M in Gifts

SALISBURY, MD—Salisbury University celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by honoring some 200 special friends whose gifts are making possible a new $1.6 million endowment through the University’s Perdue-Kresge Challenge Campaign. At a colorful reception bringing together donors, students and the campus organizations that are the beneficiaries of the endowment, SU President Janet Dudley-Eshbach expressed the University’s appreciation to the community:   “We could not have raised this money without the generous match offered by the Perdue-Kresge Challenge.  I am most grateful to the Perdue family, to the Kresge Foundation and to the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore for creating this opportunity. “Matching funds—the opportunity to double your investment—are a powerful motivator for donors.” Contributors donated $800,000 that then was doubled by Frank and Mitzi Perdue and the Kresge Foundation in endowment accounts at the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.  The first endowment dispersal was recently made. Five campus groups have benefited and the President praised donors to each: One of the largest gifts was by Peter and Judy Jackson of Tyaskin, MD, who made a challenge grant of $100,000 to benefit the Salisbury Symphon y Orchestra.  With the response of other symphony supporters and the Perdue-Kresge match their gift quadrupled to $400,000. Other major contributors included: Dr. Phillip and Carol Bosserman, formerly of Salisbury and now of Tampa, FL, for the Center for Conflict Resolution.  Paul and Wanda Ferrier of Salisbury who made a significant gift in memory of the late Sam Seidel and the Seidel Scholarship Program. The Rollins-Luetkemeyer Foundation of Baltimore whose gift will enhance the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art and its operations. Kathy Washburn Niskanen of Washington, D.C., and Princess Anne, MD, longtime friend and generous patron of the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture. At the reception, donors were treated to jazz, classical and show music by a wind quintet from the SSO while University students benefiting from scholarships explained colorful displays of activities, ranging from school programs for children to international projects such as the CCR’s redesign of the Croatian court system,  historic material culture from the Nabb Center including an antique quilt from White Haven, MD, and championship carvings from the Ward Museum. “It’s especially exciting to see the community support these programs that are at the heart of the University’s outreach mission,” said Henry Hanna, chairman of the University’s Predue-Kresge Challenge Campaign and chair of the SU Foundation Board. “All of the programs with displays around this room benefit students.  What makes them perfect for this partnership are the benefits they bring to the community.” For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the University Web site at www.salisbury.edu.