Temple University in Philadelphia received a $10.9 million from the estate of alumna Jeanne Zweig (’53, MBA ’54) to create an endowed fund to support students with physical disabilities.

The Jeanne Zweig Endowment Fund will generate approximately $450,000 a year in perpetuity to provide scholarships as well as help pay for accommodations, such as assistive technology, and support services for students with disabilities. The university plans to begin awarding scholarships to eligible students this fall. According to Temple, the gift is among the largest awarded to a university in support of students with disabilities.

Zweig, who was born with cerebral palsy, majored in accounting and graduated at the top of her class from the Fox School of Business in 1953, earned her MBA at Fox the following year, and worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers before starting her own successful accounting firm, Zweig, Ramick & Associates.  Her gifts to Temple before her death in 2015 included funding for the construction of a wheelchair ramp at the Temple Performing Arts Center.

“The number of students with disabilities we welcome at Temple has grown from 50 in 1977 to nearly 3,500 in 2020,” said director of the office of disability resources Carrie Snyder. “The commitment to accessibility is strong here at Temple, and thanks to the Jeanne Zweig Endowment, we will continue to expand the services and opportunities available to our students with disabilities.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Koh Sze Kiat)