FAU Celebrates Fifth Annual Gala

FAU President John Kelly and First Lady Carolyn Kelly toast to another successful gala.


By brittany sullivan | 4/8/2016

Florida Atlantic University recently celebrated its fifth annual gala in the FAU Stadium. More than 800 guests attended the event — a record attendance — and the event raised $670,000 to provide scholarships and support for FAU students.

“The gala was an amazing evening that served as a celebration of FAU being named the top-performing university in the state this year by the Florida Board of Governors,” said FAU President John Kelly. “It also raised a significant amount of scholarship money to provide current and future Owls who require financial assistance the opportunity to fulfill their academic dreams.

“The gala also was the perfect opportunity to announce a generous gift from Bobby and Barbara Campbell, and highlight our recently published book that features women who helped FAU succeed,” Kelly said.

During the evening, Kelly announced a $5 million gift from Bobby and Barbara Campbell to name the Bobby and Barbara Campbell Academic Success Center within the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence. The gala also honored the women featured in “Legacymakers: 100 Women of Distinction at Florida Atlantic University.”

Spread over three levels of the stadium, the gala offered gourmet dining, live music, fireworks display, and live entertainment including, aerial performers, Motown band Memory Lane and classic crooner Lisa Addeo, live and silent auctions, and more.

Diamond-level sponsors ($50,000-plus) included The City of Deerfield Beach – Law Enforcement Trust Fund; and Jay and Marilyn Weinberg. 

Silver-level sponsors ($10,000-plus) included ADT; Barnes & Noble College Bookstores; BB&T; Chartwells; FAU Lifelong Learning Society, Boca Raton; Florida Power & Light, Nextera; JM Family Enterprises, Inc.; Randy ’73 and Rosemary Justice; Schmidt Family Foundation; Holland and Knight; Sun Sentinel; Tidemark; and SFL Productions. 

Bronze-level sponsors ($5,000-plus) were BNY Mellon Wealth Management; Daniel and Debra Cane; Abdol and Cathy Moabery; Dr. Michael and Phyllis Dennis; Bobby and Barbara Campbell; Encompass Onsite Solutions; FAU Lifelong Learning Society, Jupiter Campus; Avron and Wendy Fogelman; Marcell and Natalie ’05 Haywood Patricia and Gary McKay – Templeton and Company; Islamorada Beer Company; Premier Beverage Company, LLC; ShowPro, Inc.; Turner Construction Company; and Panache.

Crystal-level sponsors ($2,500-plus) were Anthony ’78 and Vicki Barbar; The Beacon Group, Inc.; Boca Raton Airport Authority; Designs By Sean; Stephen ’82 and Tamra Constantine; Alberto ’73 and Lourdes Dosal; Dr. Jeffrey and Barbara Feingold; Michael ’82 and Mindy Feldman; Dale and Ann Gregory; IBM Southeast Employees’ Federal Credit Union; Marilyn C. Link; Christine E. Lynn, E.M. Lynn Foundation; John and Mary Beth ’74 McDonald; Novitex Enterprise Solutions; Timothy ’76 and Linda ’77 O’Connor; Paladin Global Partners; Pechter Family Foundation, Inc.; U.S. Trust; Rand Eye Institute; James Riordan, Ph.D. ’09, FAU MBA in Sport Management Program; Gary and Robin ’07, ’09 Rubin; The University Club of the FAU Foundation, Inc.; Thomas ’71 and Maureen Workman; Gilly Vending; Howard Kaye Insurance Agency, Inc.; J.C. White Office Furniture; Jody Kaminsky; Gerri P. McPherson Smith ’89; Harvey and Phyllis Sandler Foundation; Susan H. Skemp ’81; The Gabor Agency, Inc.; Toshiba Business Solutions; U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management; Eda and Cliff Viner Family Foundation; James C. Yarbrough; and Dr. Richard and Lila Yules.

Boca Raton magazine was the exclusive media sponsor.

-FAU-

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