More Than $300,000 in Support of Scholarships Raised at William Paterson University’s 25th Annual Legacy Award Gala

—Honorees included Distinguished Alumni Nancy ’72 and Emil ‘71 Salvini, Distinguished Friend Michael Allen Seeve and Distinguished Corporation ICA Risk Management Consultants

From left: Barron Wall, Michael Allen Seeve, Kathleen Waldron, Emil and Nancy Salvini

William Paterson University’s Foundation raised more than $300,000 in support of scholarships, a record-setting contribution for this event, at 25th annual Legacy Award Gala held on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at The Grove in Cedar Grove. The gala is the Foundation’s largest event to raise funds to support the University’s mission of promoting student success and academic excellence.

Alumni Nancy (nee Levenstein) Salvini ’72 and Emil Salvini ’71; Michael Allen Seeve, president, Mountain Development Corp., and ICA Risk Management Consultantswere honored for philanthropy, leadership, and community service at the event.

“Each of this year’s distinguished Legacy Award recipients has made a significant impact on the William Paterson University community and beyond,” says Pamela Ferguson, vice president for institutional advancement. “On behalf of the entire University community I thank them for their partnership, leadership, and friendship.”

Nancy and Emil Salvini, co-owners of Wheal-Grace, were honored as Distinguished Alumni. 

Emil Salvini joined his father’s small printing company, Wheal-Grace and with his wife, Nancy Salvini, helped grow it into a multimillion dollar commercial printing business. In 2012, Emil Salvini decided to devote his time to sales and marketing; Nancy Salvini, along with her two daughters, acquired majority shares of Wheal-Grace and took over as CEO and president. Wheal-Grace is now classified as a small business/women owned enterprise.

Previously, Nancy Salvini partnered with her daughters to create Greenwich Letterpress NYC, a purveyor of artisanal letterpress cards and stationery. She also spent 13 years as an art teacher with the Pompton Lakes Board of Education.

Emil Salvini is also a historian and author. He has researched and documented the history of Cape May, New Jersey and has written several books, including The Summer City by the Sea—An Illustrated History of Cape May, NJ (Rutgers University Press) and Hobey Baker, American Legend (Hobey Baker Foundation). In 2012, he produced and hosted the PBS television series Tales of the Jersey Shore.

Emil and Nancy Salvini both graduated from William Paterson with bachelor of arts degrees in art with K-12 teaching certification. They met on campus and married soon after graduation. In 2001, Emil graduated from Harvard Business School’s OPM (Owner President Manager) program. The couple have two daughters, Amy and Beth.

Michael Allen Seeve was honored as a Distinguished Friend. He is president of Mountain Development Corporation (MDC), a regional development company founded in 1979. MDC has steadily expanded by making investments in various locations, urban and suburban, throughout the Northeast. Today, MDC manages a diverse collection of primarily commercial, retail, and industrial assets totaling almost six million square feet and spanning five states.

Seeve recently became a member of the University’s Board of Trustees and is a member of the William Paterson University of New Jersey Foundation, Inc. From 2008 to 2013, Seeve served as chairperson of the Foundation, and under his leadership, the Foundation’s total assets grew to $21 million.

Seeve serves as president of the New Jersey Chapter of NAIOP, the state’s leading trade association for the commercial real estate development industry. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992, and lives in Upper Montclair with his wife, Veronica, and their two sons.

The Foundation honored ICA Risk Management Consultants, an organization of professional consultants, as a Distinguished Corporation.  Based in Mahwah, New Jersey and with offices in New Jersey, New York, California and Florida, ICA advises more than 350 clients in a wide spectrum of industries that collectively spend billions of dollars for risk management products annually. The company provides services in risk management consulting, employee benefits, expert witness and litigation support, executive insurance review and business continuity and disaster planning. The company, along with managing associate Barron Wall, have been long-time partners with William Paterson University.

William Paterson University is a leading public university in New Jersey with more than 11,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate academic programs offered by five academic colleges: Arts and Communication, Cotsakos College of Business, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Science and Health. Located on 370 hilltop acres in Wayne, the university offers a wide range of learning opportunities in its classrooms, laboratories and studios, and provides housing for nearly 2,700 students. The institution’s 404 full-time faculty are highly distinguished and diverse scholars and teachers, including 41 Fulbright scholars and recipients of numerous other awards, grants, and fellowships. The institution’s more than 67,000 alumni can be found throughout New Jersey, the nation, and the world.