Businessman Fred Pierce and his wife, Christine, pledged a $2.5 million legacy gift to San Diego State University, the school announced Monday.
Pierce, a 1988 SDSU finance and real estate graduate, designated the funds to benefit the College of Business Administration, Aztec athletics, the SDSU Alumni Association, Greek life and student scholarships. A legacy gift is a pledge of a future donation, such as through a will.
The Pierces will also provide five years of current funding for their priority areas at an unspecified level, according to SDSU.
"We're creating several alumni scholarships to underscore the value of this university's alumni and volunteerism," said Fred Pierce, whose company owns and manages student housing across the United States. "We're supporting Greek life with scholarships for fraternity and sorority members who don't qualify for federal grants, but whose families can't afford to finance their education. We're giving to entrepreneurship, finance and real estate scholarships, and we're supporting athletics because it's a gateway to a continuing relationship between SDSU and its alumni."
Pierce, a former California State University trustee, has served on the boards of the Alumni Association, the Aztec Club, the College of Business Administration and the Corky McMillin Center for Real Estate. One of his daughters just graduated from SDSU with a theater degree, and another plans to attend the school.''
His firm, Pierce Education Properties, ranks among the top 25 private owners of student housing in the country. Half of his workforce of 200 employees are students.
