The University in September received landmark gifts from Stanley Middleman to support early-stage breakthroughs at Penn Medicine and from Gabriel Gilinski C’08 and his wife Stephanie Gilinski to advance educational affordability at the School of Arts & Sciences.
Middleman’s $50 million gift will establish the Middleman Center at 3600 Civic Center Boulevard and create the Middleman Fund at Penn Medicine, designed to advance the institution’s most promising scientific discoveries.
The newly named Middleman Center—originally built as an office tower in 2018 on the western edge of Penn Medicine’s campus and later expanded into a state-of-the-art research facility—will “bring together biomedical researchers, physicians, medical students, patients and experts from engineering, business, and other areas of the University of Pennsylvania,” Penn President J. Larry Jameson said in a release. The gift will also accelerate work on therapies for cancer, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, and other serious conditions.
Middleman—the founder and CEO of Freedom Mortgage, one of the nation’s leading mortgage lenders, and an owner of the Philadelphia Phillies—has previously made gifts to Temple University, his alma mater, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. This donation marks his first major philanthropic commitment to Penn Medicine, whose corporate council he recently joined.
Meanwhile, the Gilinskis’ $22.5 million gift will establish an endowed scholarship for undergraduate students in the College, including those who come to Penn from Latin America. It will also create two endowed professorships, as well as a visiting professorship, across the departments of history, political science, and economics.
Gabriel Gilinski, who lives in Miami with his family and chairs the board of Grupo Nutresa, one of Latin America’s preeminent food companies, noted in the announcement that “across Latin America, access to education creates lasting change for families” and that “Penn gives international scholars a place to bring their own perspectives and experiences.”
“Penn is at its best when we bring talented students together with outstanding faculty and give them the opportunity to learn from one another,” Jameson said. “Gabriel and Stephanie’s generous commitment expands access to a Penn education while investing in the scholars whose outstanding teaching and research enrich our academic community.”
