Improving campus life

The Perper name can be seen in student-focused areas all over Lynn University's campus-from a mailroom and study lounge to an outdoor plaza and intercollegiate tennis complex … the complete list of locations and services is commendable. In honor of this year's annual Founders Day, celebrating the university's 62nd anniversary, Lynn's tight-knit community remembers the late Mary and Harold Perper for their dedication to improving the quality of life on campus for over 30 years. It was the Perpers custom to ask about priorities for Lynn at any particular time and then proceed to provide for them. Their gifts fulfilled greatest needs outlined in the university's strategic plan to expand services and support projects that provided care to everyone on campus.

Mary, born in Washington, D.C., married Philadelphia-born graduate of Temple University Harold Perper and launched an impressive career as one of the few female stockbrokers of the era. Residents of South Florida since the 1950s, the Perpers both worked as stockbrokers in Miami Beach and later became hotel franchisees, building and operating multiple hotels in and around the Washington, D.C. area as well as New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Perpers moved to Boca Raton in 1978, where their name became synonymous with giving. After their retirement in the 1990s, they became active supporters of Lynn-as well as many other worthy causes-with their first gift in 1994. In recognizing their generous patronage to numerous community organizations, Lynn presented the Perpers with its Boca Raton Award in 2005 for their philanthropy, civic achievement, vision and leadership. In addition, Lynn awarded the Perpers honorary degrees in 2011.

The Perpers made an unforgettable legacy at Lynn with 30 years of consecutive gifts. Their final gift to Lynn named The Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall, also benefitted the university's greatest needs. The final contribution placed the Perpers as the second-highest lifetime donors, with over $19 million dollars.

Mary and Harold Perper are acknowledged for their annual gifts in Lynn's Leadership Society and the exclusive E.M. Lynn Society that recognizes donors who have made cumulative gifts of $1 million or more.

The Perper legacy at Lynn

• Harold and Mary Perper Testing Centerin the Institute for Achievement and Learning
• Mary and Harold Perper Plaza
• Mary and Harold Perper Residence Hall & Perper Drive
• Mary Ann and Harold Perper Grandstands at Bobby Campbell Stadium
• Mary Ann and Harold Perper Intramural Field
• Mary Ann and Harold Perper Orchestra and Mezzanine Seating in the Keith C. and Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center
• Mary Perper Health Center in the Snyder Center for Health and Wellness
• Mary's Kitchen in the Christine E. Lynn University Center
• Perper Communication Center / Green Center (Perper Multimedia Teleconferencing Center aka Perper Teleconferencing Center aka the Harold and Mary Perper Multimedia Teleconferencing Center)
• Perper Coffee House
• Perper Mailroom (Perper Mail Services)
• Perper Tennis Complex
• Perper Women's Lacrosse Locker Room at Bobby Campbell Stadium
• Scholarships, annual gifts and more