From Scholarship Student to Alumni Donor: Mark W. Jordan ’63

For alumnus Mark W. Jordan '63, the scholarship support he received as a student at Adelphi University shaped his successful career and inspired a lifelong commitment to creating the same opportunity for others.

When Mark W. Jordan '63 arrived at Adelphi University, he quickly distinguished himself as a scholar. After his first year, he earned a full scholarship and continued to receive essential financial support for the remainder of his time at Adelphi. That support allowed Jordan to focus fully on his studies and gain an education that would shape his future. Today, he is committed to making that opportunity possible for a new generation of Adelphi students.

As a liberal arts student, Jordan developed the analytical discipline and critical thinking skills that prepared him for law school and a successful legal career that spanned decades, including 35 years in the healthcare industry. He retired in 2009 and has always credited Adelphi with providing the foundation for his success.

Establishing a Scholarship for Honors College Students

In 2013, Jordan established the Mark W. Jordan Scholarship to support Honors College students with strong academic promise and demonstrated financial need. His goal was simple: to help students experience the same transformative opportunity he received-an Adelphi education supported by scholarship assistance that allows them to focus on learning, growth, and possibility.

Reflecting on his commitment, Jordan said, "The education I received at Adelphi shaped my career, my path, and my leadership. Giving back each year is one way I can help ensure students today have that same foundation for opportunity."

Growing Impact Through the Momentum 2 Endowment Match Campaign

Jordan deepened that commitment in 2022 when he became the first donor to participate in Adelphi's Momentum 2 Endowment Match Campaign. With a $25,000 pledge to grow his scholarship, his gift was matched by the University-immediately doubling its long-term impact for students. His early participation helped set the stage for more to follow.

As part of the University's Momentum Campaign: Extraordinary Impact, the endowment match initiative has helped expand scholarship support and strengthen Adelphi's long-term investment in student success. By the end of the campaign's third year in 2025, it had generated $6.4 million, created 56 new endowed funds, and strengthened 38 existing ones.

Today, Jordan remains deeply engaged as a lifelong learner and educator, delivering lectures on subjects as varied as Shakespeare, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Mutiny on the Bounty at institutions including the University of California, Berkeley; Santa Clara University; the University of South Carolina; and California State University, East Bay, as well as the Walnut Creek Library Foundation, which he and his wife, Cindy, also support. They spend much of their free time traveling and have visited all seven continents.

Leadership Giving

Because his giving reflects the many ways philanthropy can take shape in support of Adelphi's mission, Jordan is recognized in all four of Adelphi's Leadership Recognition and Giving Societies (LEAD):

• the Levermore Leadership Society, recognizing annual giving of $1,000 or more,
• our Eighteen-Ninety-Six Roundtable Society, honoring lifetime giving totaling $100,000 or more,
• Adelphi's Forever Gold Society, thanking alumni and friends whose estate plans or planned gifts include the University,
• and the Dedicated Panther Society, celebrating donors who give every year.

Across his endowed scholarship, annual giving, and planned gift, Jordan's generosity will advance the priorities that shape our University's future: scholarships, academic excellence, life-changing student experiences, a modern and beautiful campus, and a diverse and vibrant community. His story reflects the powerful cycle of philanthropy-students supported by Adelphi who later return to create opportunity for those who follow.