Towson University near Baltimore has announced a $10.2 million gift from the Robert M. Fisher Memorial Foundation.

The gift from the foundation, which was established by the real estate developer and philanthropist Jess Fisher and his wife, Mildred, in the 1960s, will establish an endowed chair in the biological and physical sciences named in honor of the Fishers; a pre-engineering scholarship in memory of their late son, Robert; and a College of Science and Mathematics scholarship in memory of their late daughter, Cecilia. Part of the gift will also enhance the college's general endowment fund. Jess Fisher attended Towson for two years in the 1930s but never graduated from the school.

"Jess Fisher, looking back on his life, recognized that even though he'd been with us about two years when he left, that this school had played a key role in his life and that he'd been successful because of part of the base we provided him," said Towson president Robert L. Caret.

"Not only is this gift the largest ever received by Towson University," added Caret, "it is transformational, particularly for our college of science and mathematics, which will from now on be known as the Jess and Mildred Fisher College of Science and Mathematics.