Longtime donor gives $1M to college scholarship program

STONE RIDGE, N.Y. >> A longtime donor to SUNY Ulster has given $1 million to a college scholarship program.

Darlene L. Pfeiffer made the donation to the SUNY Ulster President’s Challenge Scholarship. It is pat of $2.8 million Pfeiffer has donated to the college in support of students.

“Giving is living. The more we give, the more we live, and we live eternally.” Pfeiffer said in a statement.

Pfeiffer recently attended a dinner party at Diamond Mills Hotel & Tavern in Saugerties to be acknowledged for her lifetime of giving.

The President’s Challenge Scholarship, founded in 2016, assists first-generation college-bound high school students overcome financial barriers associated with attending college.

Students, identified in eighth grade by sponsoring school districts, receive guidance counseling and mentoring through the completion of high school and are awarded a two-year, tuition-free college education at SUNY Ulster.

There currently are 50 college-bound students awarded annually from all nine Ulster County school districts.

“I am beyond grateful to Darlene for her continued stewardship to SUNY Ulster and for her generosity to support our students and the President’s Challenge Scholarship,” said Alan P. Roberts, SUNY Ulster president.

“It is a great honor to chair the Ulster Community College Foundation, and I’d like to thank Darlene for her incredible gift to the PCS Program,” said Foundation Chair Laurel Sweeney.

Pfieffer’s prior support to SUNY Ulster includes The Darlene L. Pfeiffer Scholarship, The Darlene L. Pfeiffer Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, The SUNY Ulster OWN It! Entrepreneurial Women’s Conference, the Pfeiffer Technology and Innovation Lab, and the New Start for Women Program Powered by Darlene L. Pfeiffer.