Endowment Matching Campaign

This fund was established in 1957 by Irving Groothuis in memory of his wife, Pearl ’36, to benefit voice and music majors. In 2015, Pearl’s son, Michael, continued the legacy by adding $15,000 to the endowment and in January 2023, Michael’s son, Adam, contributed an outright gift of $50,000. Thanks to these gifts and the matching program, the fund’s market value is $155,000, yielding $7,000 annually in scholarship dollars.

In 2019, Norma Melendez ’76 established the Manuel R. Melendez Scholarship with a gift of $25,000 to honor the life journey of her father and to share his love of music and education and his pride in his Latino heritage. This fund provides resources to an Adelphi student pursuing a BS in music or music education who has financial need. In 2022, Norma committed another $25,000 when her mother passed and renamed the scholarship the Manuel and Manuela Memorial Scholarship.

Karen Sani Ali Esq. established this scholarship in 2018 with a gift of $25,000 in honor of her late mother. In January 2023, after her father’s death, she made another commitment of $25,000. Karen, a first-generation college graduate, says the scholarship pays tribute to her parents’ sacrifices in providing her and her siblings with an education. Karen also wanted to honor her son, Justin Rashad Weekes ’19, who she said received an incredible education at Adelphi. The scholarship is aimed at relieving the financial burden of students.

Mildred (Mil) Clegg Ackerley ’55, MA ’76, attended Adelphi on a full scholarship and graduated magna cum laude in 1955 with a mathematics degree. She earned her graduate degree in education in 1976. In 2005, at Mildred’s 50th reunion, her children established the Mildred Clegg Ackerley Endowed Scholarship in Mathematics in her honor. When she passed away in 2015, family members donated an additional $100,000, participating in the University’s inaugural scholarship match campaign. In 2023, her sons Lee and Bob donated $400,000 to the endowment. Her scholarship fund, which now stands at an impressive $1 million, is the largest endowment in Adelphi’s history to benefit the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Deborah Viola ’84, PhD, committed $25,000 to establish the Daniel Viola Family Scholarship for Neurodiversity to provide resources for students in the Bridges to Adelphi program. Her college experiences and professional success, coupled with her advocacy and support of the neurodiverse community, inspired her to generously create this endowment in her son Daniel’s name. Deborah also serves on the President’s Advisory Council and Willumstad School of Business Dean’s Advisory Board.

Anita D’Amico, MA ’78, PhD ’84, a seasoned research psychologist and software security specialist, has increased her commitment to the Anita D’Amico, PhD ’84, Endowment Fund for Cybersecurity and Psychology Research by an additional $25,000. Established in 2021 by Dr. D’Amico and her husband, Joseph Stambouly, MD, after being honored with the President’s Award for Distinguished Service at the 21st Annual President’s Gala, the fund is dedicated to advancing research at Adelphi in cybersecurity, psychology, or their intersection. The recent commitment brings the fund’s total to more than $138,000. Dr. D’Amico, who recently retired as the Vice President of Products at Synopsys, Inc., was motivated to give by her positive experiences as a graduate student at Adelphi University.

Francine Conway, MA ’96, PhD ’99, an award-winning clinical psychologist renowned for her contributions to child psychopathology, has pledged $25,000 to establish The Sylvina Yearwood Conway Endowed Scholarship in Clinical Psychology. This scholarship will benefit PhD students at the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology. A tribute to Dr. Conway’s grandmother, the fund aims to support aspiring psychologists in their academic pursuits. Dr. Conway, who has served as the Chancellor of Rutgers University–New Brunswick since June 2023, earned her doctoral degree from the Gordon F. Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies where she later served on the faculty for 13 years.

Mark W. Jordan ’63, who passionately supports Adelphi University’s Honors College, established the Mark W. Jordan Scholarship in 2013 for full-time undergraduates. During his undergraduate years, he thrived in the liberal arts environment, fully embracing the transformative experience while on a full scholarship. His Adelphi University education significantly contributed to honing his reading, analytical, and memorization skills, which were an instrumental foundation for his subsequent journey through law school and a successful career as an attorney until his retirement in 2009. Jordan was the first person to make a gift as a result of the Momentum 2 Endowment Match Campaign with a $25,000 pledge to his scholarship.