George Mason, Creighton And University Of San Diego Receive Major Naming Gifts
George Mason University has received a $20 million donation for its School of Computing.
In the past 10 days, three institutions — George Mason University, Creighton University and the University of San Diego — have received multimillion-dollar donations for various initiatives.
George Mason University was given $20 million by the Kimmy Duong Foundation. Because a portion of that gift will be eligible for matching funds from the Tech Talent Investment Program — a Virginia initiative that aims to increase the number of graduates with computing degrees — its total impact could reach as high as $36 million.
In recognition of the gift, George Mason's Board of Visitors voted to rename its School of Computing the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Duong School of Computing.
The funds will be used to create three endowments. Two will support scholarships and student success initiatives within the George Mason's College of Engineering. The third will provide scholarships through the Long Nguyen and Kimmy Dong Scholarship Endowment with preference given to students majoring in nursing, education, or journalism.
"Kimmy Duong and Long Nguyen have been good friends to George Mason, recognizing the opportunity our university provides for students to succeed,' said George Mason University President Gregory Washington in the university's announcement.
'Kimmy came to this country with very little and climbed her way to success, not unlike how many of our students who—whether they are first generation or come from difficult socioeconomic circumstances—overcome their own challenges. George Mason has been a leader in computing for many years, and this transformational gift will help ensure that remains the case for many more years to come," added Washington.
Duong was born in Vietnam, where she earned her BS in economics and law from the University of Saigon in 1966. She joined IBM in 1968, and worked there until she fled the country in 1975 to came to the United States. In 1994, she joined Pragmatics, where she served as vice chairwoman and CFO, overseeing it finance, legal, facilities management, and human resources departments.
In 2015, she established the Kimmy Duong Foundation, which supports a range of health, education, and welfare initiatives in the United States and Vietnam. Kimmy Duong and her husband, Long Nguyen, gave $5 million to George Mason in 2009 for the Nguyen Engineering Building.
Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, announced on April 22 that it had received a $10 million bequest from alumnus Elno Zikmund and his wife, Tillie.
In its announcement, Creighton described the gift as one of the largest for 'unrestricted' scholarships, meaning that they are not limited to a particular field or income level. The couple created the Elno T. and Mathilda M. Zikmund Endowed Scholarship at Creighton in 2010. Elno Zikmund was a physician in Central City, Nebraska.
'With the wide-ranging support of the Zikmund Scholarship, students from many different fields are taking Creighton's values into their communities, as Dr. Zikmund did,' said The Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, president of Creighton University, in a news release. 'I am truly grateful for the Zikmund family's gift and for everything it will mean for our students and the places they serve.'
On May 1, the University of San Diego announced that it had been given $10 million by Dan and Phyllis Epstein, through their Epstein Family Foundation.
The gift will be used to support the new Epstein Family Foundation Military-Connected Center for Excellence. In addition, the gift is being framed as a challenge to raise another $10 million in matching donations for the Center.
The center is dedicated to USD students with military connections, including active-duty personnel and veterans, as well as spouses and dependent children.
'Our family is honored to support this important initiative, ensuring that military-connected students have the resources they need and deserve,' said Dan Epstein. 'We invite the community to join us in this effort to create pathways of opportunity for those dedicated to lives of service and leadership. Together, we can make a meaningful difference for students today and for future generations.'
Dan Epstein is the executive chairman and founder of the ConAm Group, which is headquartered in San Diego. ConAm is one of the leading privately owned apartment management/ownership firms in the country, operating about 50,000 apartments throughout the United States.
In addition to contributing to several other philanthropic causes, the Epsteins are long-time supporters of the university, making donations for many of its programs, including military-connected students, real estate students and faculty and the Real Estate Awareness and Diversity Initiative program.
'We are deeply grateful to the Epstein Family for their generous support in advancing USD's commitment to our military-connected students,' said University of San Diego President James T. Harris III, in the announcement. 'Their leadership in this initiative will create lasting opportunities for service members, veterans, and their families, strengthening our campus and community."
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