ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ

Largest Cash Gift Ever Made to ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum

The ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum has received a $1.1 million donation – its largest cash gift ever – from local business leader and ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ alumnus Gerald Schweiger

The ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum has received a $1.1 million donation – its largest cash gift ever – from local business leader and ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ alumnus Gerald Schweigert. The donation, in the form of a charitable gift annuity, will be instrumental in the preservation and future support of museum collections and activities.

A longtime donor to ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ whose past contributions include a Medallion Scholarship for a deserving fashion student, and a gift to Intercollegiate Athletics, Schweigert is a native of Copley, Ohio, who graduated from Copley High School and is a 1955 graduate of ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ's College of Business Administration. He currently resides in West Akron. His ties to the university were further strengthened over the years by his business links to ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ – he owned several local hotels – and by his long friendship with Shannon Rodgers, who with Jerry Silverman, donated the fashion collections that founded the museum.

β€œShannon left a wonderful gift with his collection, but no endowment fund,” Schweigert says. β€œI’m just trying to do my part to keep the legacy going.”

β€œJerry’s gift will enable the museum to continue the great legacy that Schweigert’s friends, Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman, left us,” says John Crawford, dean of the College of the Arts at ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ. β€œThanks to Mr. Schweigert’s generous donation, we’ll be able to maintain and expand the programming of the ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum for years to come.”

Schweigert was personally involved when Silverman and Rodgers first came to ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ and the fashion school/museum project was coming together in the early 1980s. He was particularly adept at hospitality and making everyone feel welcome and at home.

β€œEvery Friday night people would come in from New York, like Bob Mackie (known for costuming entertainment icons such as Cher, Diana Ross and Tina Turner), Pauline TrigΓ¨re (known for her crisp, tailored cuts and innovative ideas), and Princess Michael of Kent (an Austrian-Hungarian member of the British Royal Family),” Schweigert says. β€œI became very good friends with many of them, and entertained them in Kent and at my home in Palm Beach.”

When the museum space was created in the former university library in Rockwell Hall, the original Silverman-Rodgers collection consisted of 4,000 dresses, 1,000 decorative pieces and a 5,000-volume reference library. Today, the museum has some 30,000 dresses and 10,000 decorative pieces. Many of the artifacts are stored in climate-controlled facilities in the area.

According to Steve Sokany, ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ’s senior associate vice president for Institutional Advancement, the museum has had to turn down offers of additional pieces for the collection because of a lack of appropriate storage space.

β€œRecognizing how much Silverman and Rodgers meant to Jerry, this leadership support is very special and will ensure that the museum continues to thrive and grow,” Sokany says.

Schweigert plans to continue his support of Rodger’s legacy. Furnishings, china and artwork that belonged to Rodgers, and are currently under Schweigert’s care, will eventually revert to the museum and add to the commitment he has already made. β€œThe museum is my number one philanthropic focus,” Schweigert says. β€œAnd I’m not through yet. I know Shannon would be happy to know that I’m helping out the museum.”

Gene Finn, vice president for Institutional Advancement at ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ, adds, β€œAs a ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ graduate, Mr. Schweigert’s generous gift sets an example for all our alumni. His support will be meaningful for future generations of students. That’s a great legacy, as well as an important contribution to historical preservation.”

For more information about the ΠΤΈ£ΞεΤΒΜμ University Museum, visit www.kent.edu/museum.

POSTED: Monday, July 9, 2012 12:00 AM
Updated: Saturday, December 3, 2022 01:02 AM
WRITTEN BY:
University Communications and Marketing