Mary Jane ’62 and Thomas Poole

Longtime Garden City, New York, residents Mary Jane and Thomas Poole founded and endowed the Poole Family Broadway Series at the Adelphi University Performing Arts Center in 2015. The series has welcomed renowned and rising Broadway talent to the Concert Hall at the Performing Arts Center, including Emmy Award-winner Lucie Arnaz, Daytime Emmy Award-winner Susan Lucci, Tony Award-nominee Adam Pascal, Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winner Billy Porter, Outer Critics Circle Award-winner Anthony Rapp, and Tony Award-winner, Kennedy Center Honors and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Chita Rivera, among many other stars of stage and screen.

Mary Jane, who received her bachelor’s degree in English from Adelphi, is a staunch supporter of the performing arts. Her love of the arts, coupled with her experience at Adelphi as a student and her service on Adelphi’s Arts Development Board, inspired her to generously establish this fund in support of the performing arts. Through the Poole Family Foundation, the couple’s philanthropic interests extend beyond arts to healthcare and the local community.