Biz School Strikes Gold

Southern Connecticut State University’s business program, which is getting a new building in 2023, has received its largest-ever donation, aimed at grooming future leaders.

The $500,000 donation comes from Lindy Lee Gold.

The following release issued by SCSU Friday gives the details:

Lindy Lee Gold’s commitment to Southern Connecticut State University is inspired by a belief that public education helps break the cycle of poverty.
She recently donated $500,000 to SCSU through the Amour Propre Fund, a charitable organization on which she serves as president. The money will be used to establish the School of Business Endowment for Leadership Development at Southern. It is the largest contribution ever made in support of business students at the university.

Gold made the gift to enhance and expand programs offered through the Leadership Center in the School of Business. Existing programs include the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program; and IMPACT Greater New Haven, which places Southern business majors as interns at nonprofit organizations with the university covering the cost of students’ stipends. The fund will support other leadership initiatives, such as a Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program; a Student Leadership Council, uniting business majors with community and business leaders; and global experience programming.

In recognition of this donation, Southern will establish the Lindy Lee Gold Business Leadership Suite, generously supported by the Amour Propre Fund, within the new planned home for the School of Business. The 60,000-square foot building is scheduled to open in 2023, with a ground-breaking ceremony set for the spring. Southern hopes the gift will inspire others to contribute to the fund.

“Education is a great equalizer,” Gold says, referencing the importance of early childhood development and the advantage to children who enter preschool knowing thousands of words compared to those who know hundreds.

“The same thing happens when you look at social and leadership skills, mentorship, and even family connections,” says Gold, who serves on the SCSU Foundation Board of Directors and the Business Advisory Council of the School of Business. ​“When our students graduate, I want to make sure they are on a more level playing field.… Education doesn’t just change the career trajectory and life of the person involved. It alters the paradigm for generations to come.”

An early entrepreneur, Gold owned a wholesale and retail travel business, in addition to a construction company, all of which she eventually sold. Her second career drew on this business experience — as well as leadership skills honed working with many philanthropic organizations, including some she established in New Haven. Since 1998, Gold has worked at the state Department of Economic and Community Development. A senior development specialist, she is responsible for business retention, recruitment, development and expansion.

In New Haven, she has recently worked with the nonprofit organization ​’r Kids on a program for teenage girls in foster care; joined forces with Christian Community Action to renovate and help furnish 18 apartments for families in need of transitional housing; and provided critical support to Y2Y, a student-led organization for homeless youth, age 18 to 24.

At Southern, she previously provided a $150,000 grant to support the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program in the School of Business.

“Our students are smart, hardworking, and resourceful,” said Ellen Durnin, dean emeritus of the School of Business. ​“They also usually have multiple responsibilities and complicated lives — and they are putting it together and managing it all,” she says.

Financial obstacles are among the hardships facing students, according to Durnin. About 55 percent of Southern undergraduates receive need-based Pell grants for those with high levels of financial need.

“Often they are the first in their family to go to a university,” Durnin said. ​“Many do not have an educational or professional role model. That’s why building these leadership experiences is critical for our students to compete.”