Purchase College-SUNY Receives $2.5 Million Gift From Long-time Donors Emily And Eugene Grant

PURCHASE, N.Y., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Emily and Eugene Grant, avid supporters of higher education and dedicated arts patrons, have provided a $2.5 million gift to Purchase College-SUNY to be used primarily for unrestricted student scholarships as well as scholarships to students in the Conservatory of Music who show exceptional talent.

The donation was announced today at a meeting of the Purchase College Foundation.  Emily Grant joined the board of the Purchase College Foundation in 1969, serving for 18 years as Chairwoman.

The Grants, long-time residents of Mamaroneck, NY, have previously funded hundreds of deserving students at Purchase College through the Eugene and Emily Grant Merit Scholarship and the Eugene and Emily Grant Music Scholarship programs.  This latest gift to fund additional student scholarships—as well as to fund faculty awards, and to support music productions within the college's School of the Arts—is the Grant's largest gift ever to the college.

"My husband and I are keenly interested in maintaining the quality of public higher education in our community and this gift does just that," Mrs. Grant said.  "It is our belief that the dream of having a school of the arts at the university level—which was the late Governor Rockefeller's vision—has been brought to fruition at Purchase College and we are confident that this gift will help maintain the high standard of the college and its students."

"The Grants' sense of pride in our institution—in our students and faculty—is striking.  Emily and Eugene have forged a never-ending connection with Purchase College," said Purchase College President Thomas J. Schwarz.  "Their legacy is reflected in hundreds of gifted students who might not otherwise have made it to or all the way through college to become the success stories they are today.  I can't thank them enough for their dedication and generosity, as this gift will enhance Purchase College's ability to attract and retain the highest caliber students."

The $2.5 million gift is comprised as follows: 

• $1 million endowment to go toward unrestricted student scholarships in all disciplines.

• $1 million endowment for need-based and merit scholarships for music students.

• $100,000 endowment for the President's highest needs.

• $50,000 endowment for faculty awards that may include support for scholarly and research activities, recitals, exhibitions, improving or designing new curriculum and incorporating new technologies or pedagogies. 

• $50,000 endowment to create a Music and Performance Music Production Fund.

• Cash gift of $300,000 to kick start the effort while the endowments generate funds.

"This is the kind of gift a public college really needs," said Jeannine Starr, Purchase College's Vice President of Institutional Advancement.  "I have worked closely with  Emily and Eugene to understand their goals for this contribution, and we've planned together with great care to make sure the gift would be one of immediate impact for students and to Purchase College."

Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspirations for Purchase were to combine on one campus conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences. Today, Purchase College–SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the College, visit www.purchase.edu.

Media contact:
Lonny Unger, Purchase College Media Relations
[email protected],
914-251-6959 (office); 914-262-6351 (cell)

SOURCE Purchase College-SUNY