Stevenson University is pleased to announce that David and Suzi Cordish, longtime friends and neighbors of Stevenson University, have pledged a $500,000 gift to the University. In acknowledgement of their generous support, the lobby of the new Philip A. Zaffere Library, to be constructed on Stevenson’s Owings Mills North campus, will be named in their honor.
“On behalf of our entire campus community, I would like to thank David and Suzi for this extraordinary gift to the University,” said Stevenson President Elliot Hirshman. “Both have been impressed with the educational mission and momentum of Stevenson and have expressed their hope that this gift will inspire others to support our students and our institution in the coming years. We are very grateful for their generosity and their friendship.”
Born and raised in Baltimore, David Cordish is the Chairman of The Cordish Companies, now in its fourth generation of family ownership. Over the past decades, the Company has grown into one of the largest real estate and entertainment businesses in the United States with a focus on commercial real estate, entertainment districts, casino resorts, hotels, residential, restaurants, sports-anchored development, and coworking spaces.
The Cordish Companies and Cordish Family are among the largest philanthropists in the markets where they do business, including Baltimore where the Company has been headquartered for 111 years and where David and Suzi reside.
“We believe we have an obligation to give back to the communities where we live and work,” said David and Suzi Cordish. “It is our great honor to make this donation to Stevenson University and to be able to support and celebrate the growth of the University.”
Stevenson’s new Zaffere Library, named in honor of the late Eastern Shore entrepreneur Philip A. Zaffere, will complement the Manning Academic Center and School of Design, creating an academic hub at the University’s Owings Mills North campus. Construction on the library is slated to begin this Fall.
Originally founded in 1947 as Villa Julie College, Stevenson University serves more than 2,700 undergraduate students at its campus in Owings Mills, Md., as well as students in the University’s new Doctor of Psychology program and more than 1,000 online graduate and bachelor’s students through Stevenson University Online. Stevenson is dedicated to creating connections to careers, a supportive community, and exceptional experiences in and out of the classroom to foster students’ academic, social, and professional success.
