Higher Ed
On Apr 3, 2026
Real estate developer and philanthropist Paul Silverman has established the Silverman Family Scholarship at New Jersey City University, with an initial $50,000 endowed gift that will provide financial assistance to deserving students on its Jersey City campus for generations to come.
The need-based scholarship will be awarded by the NJCU Foundation to students who demonstrate financial need, with recipients selected by the Foundation based on an applicant’s circumstances and potential for success.
Silverman’s gift also serves as the lead and inaugural donation for a planned centennial campaign—details of which will be announced at a later date—that will benefit student scholarships on the Jersey City campus following the merger of NJCU with Kean University in Summer 2026. NJCU was chartered in 1927 as Jersey City State Normal School, and 2027 will mark the 100th year of the campus in the state’s second largest city.
Silverman, a former longtime member of the NJCU Foundation Board of Directors where he served from 2012 to 2022, including a term as vice chair, cited President Andrés Acebo’s investiture ceremony in September 2025 as the catalyst for re-engaging with the university after stepping back from active involvement in recent years.
“What inspired me was Andy’s investiture. He approached it not as a ceremony, but as a tribute to this community,” Silverman explained. “Being there rekindled something in me: a belief in NJCU, in its purpose, and in the people it exists to uplift. Like many, I had stepped back after losing faith in the university’s previous direction. But that moment, shaped by President Acebo’s conviction, passion, and deep commitment to our students, called me back with clarity and renewed purpose.”
Silverman emphasized that NJCU’s mission and student population make philanthropic support particularly impactful. “NJCU serves a population where this scholarship is really going to make a difference in the life of a student,” he said. “It’s a significant investment. Rather than donating to a huge university with billions of dollars, you can really make a difference in the lives of students from our community every year. I encourage others who are in a position to give back, to consider the impact a gift such as this will have.”
Silverman was honored during the 2022 NJCU Leadership Awards gala in recognition of his lasting impact on Jersey City and the greater Hudson County area.
President Acebo celebrated the gift, saying “Paul Silverman and his family’s generous commitment to our students demonstrates their profound understanding that education is the foundation upon which strong communities are built. As someone who has literally shaped the skyline and neighborhoods of Jersey City, Paul recognizes that investing in our students is the most important investment we can make in our community’s future. His gift will support the very students who define our campus community—hardworking individuals, predominantly first-generation working-class scholars, who are determined to succeed notwithstanding significant challenges and obstacles. We are deeply grateful for Paul’s renewed partnership with our campus mission and his unwavering belief in the transformative power of education.”
The establishment of the Silverman Family Scholarship continues Paul Silverman’s long history of supporting education and community development in Hudson County. As co-founder with his brother Eric of the prominent real estate development firm SILVERMAN, he has played a pivotal role in revitalizing Jersey City’s downtown and waterfront districts since 1981. Under their leadership, SILVERMAN has developed over 1,000 new residences and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial and industrial space.
Widely regarded for his work as a developer of residential, commercial, retail and industrial real estate in New Jersey, including restoration of historic buildings, renovation of existing buildings, and new construction, he is also a noted supporter of the arts and other causes. He has also served as Chairman of New Jersey Beer Co., a microbrewery producing craft beer since 2011.
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