Stevenson University is pleased to announce a $300,000 gift from the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation. In recognition of this gift, the Library amphitheater will be named in honor of Philip A. Zaffere.
The late Philip A. Zaffere was an entrepreneur, inventor, and food production engineer. Born in 1930 in Federalsburg on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he began operating his family’s bakery business during his college years. An outside-of-the-box thinker, he engineered food production methods and technologies that elevated his company, Shoreman Food Technologies, to a national level. Under his leadership, the company became the main supplier for large nationwide brands including Stove Top Stuffing and Mrs. Paul’s frozen foods.
This marks the second major gift Stevenson has received from the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation. In 2020, the Foundation—under the guidance of its trustees Louis Friedman, Phyllis Friedman, and Freddie Traub—made a $2 million gift to support the construction of Stevenson’s new 43,000-square-foot Philip A. Zaffere Library on the University’s North campus.
Louis and Phyllis Friedman are longtime supporters of Stevenson, and have been instrumental in securing past naming gifts including the Beverly K. Fine School of the Sciences, the Emmert Hobbs Foundation SoLVE Center, the new Philip A. Zaffere Library, and the Beverly K. and Jerome M. Fine Lobby of the Berman Family Performing Arts Center now under construction on Stevenson’s North campus.
“The generosity of the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation has transformed our campus,” said Elliot Hirshman, Ph.D., President of Stevenson. “The Philip A. Zaffere Amphitheater, attached to the beautiful new Philip A. Zaffere Library, will serve as a distinct outdoor venue for education, campus events, and the arts at Stevenson. On behalf of our entire community, I would like to thank the Friedmans and Freddie Traub for their continued friendship and support.”
