The Kislak Real Estate Institute and the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University will have $2.125 million infused, thanks to a recent pledge from the Kislak Family Foundation.
Of the pledge, $1 million will continue to support a need-based Kislak Family Scholarship for undergraduates pursuing a business degree with a real estate concentration; $125,000 will continue to support the Kislak Real Estate Institute’s Academic Challenge, an annual intercollegiate real estate competition; and $1 million will support the construction of a new 30,000-square-foot building on the university campus to house the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, related exhibition galleries and a 230-seat, state-of-the-art theater.
“We are immensely grateful for the Kislak Family Foundation’s generous pledge and continued confidence in our mission,” Monmouth University President Patrick Leahy said. “This gift will bolster our mission to deliver an exceptional education to students today, while also providing foundational support for the future of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. The foundation’s support for both scholarship funding, and for preserving and sharing the diverse tapestry of American music, resonates deeply with our institutional values of excellence, access and social mobility.”
The Kislak family’s philanthropic support and connection to Monmouth University dates back to 2006, when a transformational gift helped establish the Kislak Real Estate Institute as a center of excellence in teaching and research within the Leon Hess Business School at the university. The foundation and university established the first credit-bearing academic real estate program in New Jersey, which was one of 65 in the country at the time and is one of 100 such programs today.
Since 2006, the Kislak Family Foundation also provided inaugural support for the Kislak Family Scholarship and Academic Challenge and funding for a permanent endowed directorship for the Kislak Real Estate Institute.
The foundation’s commitments honor the memory of the late Jay I. Kislak, an inspiring entrepreneur, real estate pioneer and philanthropist. Kislak entered the family real estate business in 1945, making it his life’s work. After moving to Miami in the early 1950s, he established what would become one of the country’s largest privately held mortgage banks, originating and servicing loans nationwide for more than 40 years.
Until his death in 2018 at age 96, Kislak served as chairman of the Kislak Organization, which today focuses on real estate investments and brokerage.
“The Kislak family business was founded in New Jersey in 1906, and I am proud of the foundation’s continued support of Monmouth University and its impactful work,” Jason Pucci, CEO of the Kislak Co., said. “Jay Kislak forged a living legacy by helping to develop students who will become the next generation of real estate professionals and it is exciting to be a part of preserving Bruce Springsteen’s important legacy and the history of American music.”
