Salem State $350K Donation To Create Student Investment Fund

SALEM, MA — A $350,000 donation from a New York City investment firm's chief executive officer and Salem State University alumnus will create a student investment fund and includes a $100,000 donation to the school's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

Mario J. Gabelli's donation will establish the Mario J. Gabelli Student Investment Fund to give finance students learning opportunities in portfolio management and the investment management process.

"Our family foundation has supported dozens of various causes over these many years, but our main focus is on higher education," said Gabelli, the Chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, Inc., and chairman of LICT Corporation. "It is the single most effective way for those underrepresented in higher education to build social mobility and certainly helped me achieve personal financial success."

"As a first-generation college student myself, I'm delighted to support a university that lifts up those who might not otherwise access higher education."

Gabelli was the first member of his family to attend college during World War II and went on to earn his graduate degree from Columbia Business School.

"We are tremendously honored that Mario Gabelli and Regina Pitaro have chosen to support two key areas of our institution," Salem State University President John Keenan said. "Their generosity will have a long-lasting and positive impact on our Bertolon School of Business students to help them gain concrete skills and experiences; and on the larger community, as our Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies strives to address challenging social justice issues surrounding discrimination, hatred and genocide."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)