Peter and Susan Cooper have pledged $50 million to Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. for athletics and leadership projects, the school said.
Cooper and Co. is a real estate developer and private equity investor based in Newport Beach, with offices in Texas and New Zealand. The firm recently signed a lease for space at Irvine Co.’s new 520 Newport Center office tower.
The school said the donation is in the form of “a commitment of assets associated with holdings in Dimensional Fund Advisors,” an investment arm of Cooper and Co.
The donation to Georgetown is for the school’s student-athlete leadership program and to complete its multi-sports field on campus, both of which will take the Cooper name.
“We believe that athletics and academics combine to provide an ideal crucible to create future leaders,” Peter Cooper said in a statement issued by the school. “The program is a wonderful fit with Georgetown’s Jesuit values and tradition of care for others.”
Georgetown said it’s the largest gift ever to its athletics programs.
All five of the Coopers’ children are Georgetown alumni.
