HomepageNewsBoard Chair DeSimone Sets President’s Priorities Fund with Gift Commitment

Board Chair DeSimone Sets President’s Priorities Fund with Gift Commitment

Inspired by President Robyn Hannigan’s leadership and vision, Suzanne and Joe DeSimone ’86, P’12, H’99 announced a new fund to offer flexible resources to advance Ursinus’s most pressing needs.

The night before the inauguration of Ursinus College’s 19th President Robyn Hannigan, Suzanne and Joseph M. DeSimone ’86, P’12, H’99, chair of the Ursinus Board of Trustees and the Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professor of Translational Medicine and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University, took a major step to ensure that the new president would have resources at her disposal to pursue her vision and elevate the college and its reputation.

In front of the nearly 150 guests at the college’s annual Leadership Dinner event, DeSimone announced a $100,000 commitment to create a President’s Priorities Fund. He said, “As Robyn begins her personal journey as a Bear, it is prudent that she has flexible resources to achieve maximum success.”

Hannigan, who officially became president on July 1, 2022, and was inaugurated on October 14, 2022, has already put forth a vision framed by the new strategic plan, Every Student’s Success, and has committed to increasing access and affordability for all students, enhancing the undergraduate academic and research experience, establishing meaningful external partnerships, and reinforcing fiscal sustainability. The fund will support programs and initiatives that move those priorities forward.

“What you represent and what you stand for are truly inspiring,” DeSimone said to Hannigan in his remarks at the Leadership Dinner on October 13. “You are everything that this college needs right now—passionate about higher ed, driven, nimble, and forward-thinking. I am honored to have the opportunity to partner with you in the coming months and years to help further distinguish Ursinus College.”

“I am so pleased that the college is able to not only celebrate Robyn during this exciting time, but also put in place a source of vital funding for her as she steps forward into her presidency,” said Vice President for Advancement Michelle Yurko, who joined the college’s leadership team just this month. “With the President’s Priorities Fund we are investing in the areas of greatest need for the college, with Robyn leading us boldly in that positive direction. I am personally thankful to Suzanne and Joe DeSimone for this important gift and for inspiring others to join them.”

For more information on the fund or to contribute, click here.

Quick Links

Related Topics

Donor Stories
Leadership
News Home