Elmhurst University Gets Record-Setting Gift: Statement

ELMHURST, IL — Elmhurst University has received a record-setting philanthropic gift from a businessman and longtime trustee, according to a school news release this week.

The university said Alfred Koplin's gift represents the largest made by a living donor in the university's history. The news release did not indicate the amount. A spokeswoman told Patch the university was unable to divulge the amount out of respect for the donor's wishes.

Koplin and his late wife, Jean, have supported and served the university for more than four decades, the school said. Their gifts have supported scholarships, faculty endeavors and curriculum development.

Koplin has been a member of the university's board of trustees since 1981. His wife died in October at age 97.

Over several decades starting in the 1960s, Al and Jean Koplin built their company, Hinsdale Management Corp., into a successful commercial real estate and property management company whose portfolio would include managing more than 1 million square feet of property, according to the news release.

Koplin often called his wife the brains behind their enterprise. A voracious reader throughout her life, she learned architecture and design by reading books at the Chicago Public Library, the news release said. With her designs and business acumen, the Koplins built more than 300 homes and apartments, and more than a dozen office buildings and shopping centers throughout Chicago’s western suburbs, the university said.

They have also donated to the Hinsdale hospital, the Mayo Clinic and other charities.

“On behalf of Elmhurst University, I want to express our deep gratitude to Al and Jean Koplin for their extraordinary generosity and the impact it has had, and will have, on so many lives,” Elmhurst University President Troy VanAken said in the news release.