WCC Renames Student Center in Honor of David Swope

VALHALLA, NY — SUNY Westchester Community College recently renamed its student center to
The David Swope Student Center.

Swope, a regional philanthropist who died in 2018, was a dedicated supporter of WCC and its students, serving as a member, president and chairman of the WCC Foundation Board, as well as chair of the WCC Board of Trustees.

At unveiling of the new name, County Executive George Latimer, Chair of the WCC Board of Trustee LeRoy Mitchell, and former chair of the WCC Foundation Board Joanne Landau talked about Swope and the college.

“This renaming to honor David Swope is a powerful symbol of his commitment to education and the opportunities it provides,” Latimer said. “David's tireless dedication to SUNY Westchester Community College, its students, and access to affordable education will now forever be memorialized. We are profoundly thankful to the Swope family for their generosity and service to our community.”

Swope, an Ossining resident, was a lawyer and co-founder of Club Fit in Briarcliff Manor and Jefferson Valley whose philanthropy included not only WCC but also Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining, the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, the Westchester Land Trust and the Pace University Environmental Center.

“His passion was for making higher education affordable, particularly for those who were less fortunate," Dr. Mitchell said. "He understood the importance of completion for these students and tried, through his generosity and unflagging efforts, to help remove barriers and obstacles for those in need. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Swope family for their generosity and service to the County and to the college.”

His guidance and leadership as Chair of the Foundation Board enabled the success of several major initiatives at the College and Foundation over the past two decades, Landau said. “David’s belief in the transformational power of scholarships, both financially and emotionally, has helped countless students succeed when they thought they could not.”