H. F. Lenfest

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H. F. "Gerry" Lenfest is a media entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, then later grew up in Scarsdale, New York, and Hunterdon County, New Jersey.[1] After attending Flemington High School, and graduating from Mercersburg Academy[2], Lenfest went on to receive his BA from Washington and Lee University in 1953 and his LLB from Columbia Law School in 1958.[3] He served in the Navy between college and law school. Lenfest worked at the firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell before becoming associate counsel to Triangle Publications, Inc. in 1965. In 1970, he was named head the Communications Division at Triangle. He formed Lenfest Communications in 1974 and sold it to Comcast in 2000 for $6.7 billion.

Lenfest plans on donating all of his wealth to worthy causes before he dies.[4] On March 21, 2007, Lenfest announced a donation of $33 million to be spent solely on faculty compensation at his alma mater, Washington and Lee University, where he serves as a trustee, and an unpublished amount to Wilson College, Mrs. Lenfest's alma mater. In recent years, Lenfest has given over $100 million to Columbia University,where his donations include a $48 million challenge gift toward the endowment of 32 new professorships, $15 million toward construction of a Law School residence hall which bears his name, $15 million to support the programs of the Earth Institute, and $12 million to endow awards for outstanding teaching. In 2006, Lenfest became Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Lenfest also endows the Lenfest College Prep Scholarship, which is given to teenagers from eighth to tenth grade from certain areas of rural Pennsylvania to attend one of three private schools, Mercersburg Academy, Westtown School, or Wyoming Seminary. He also endows the Lenfest College Scholars program, which is given to high school seniors from the same area to give a scholarship to them.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Musser 2006 | About the award
  2. ^ The Cable Center
  3. ^ Office of the Secretary of The University: The Trustees of Columbia University
  4. ^ The Chronicle of Higher Education
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Consequentally the Lenfest College Prep. Program was ended in 2007 due to unsatisfactory performance of some of the scholars. However, the scholarships will still be honored of those students still using the scholarship.