Mary Baldwin University President Pamela R. Fox has announced a $12.5 million legacy gift from dedicated university supporter and entrepreneur Paula Stephens Lambert, a member of the Class of 1965 who resides in Dallas.
The gift was announced at a dinner with the university’s Board of Trustees in Staunton on Oct. 14.
“I am very honored and humbled tonight to announce this gift from Paula Lambert, one of the most significant in the history of Mary Baldwin,” Fox said. “Her entrepreneurial spirit is a guiding light for the entire university, and her generosity enables Mary Baldwin to continue to move forward with foresight and bold innovation.”
Lambert’s commitment launches a new chapter of the MBU Empowers Campaign, which has now raised $36 million, $11 million above the campaign’s initial $25 million goal. The success inspired university administrators to extend the campaign for another two years to pursue a comprehensive goal of $50 million.
A significant portion of the funds are dedicated to “unrestricted support,” enabling Mary Baldwin to pursue exciting new opportunities and nimbly address needs as they arise. The gift will also endow in perpetuity a study abroad scholarship fund that Lambert founded in 2015 at MBU. It provides generous, annual stipends for immersive cultural experiences abroad.
“I’m just thrilled that a gift like this can make such a difference,” said Lambert.
She said her alma mater helped her achieve success and that she wants to pay it forward by ensuring Mary Baldwin continues to flourish.
“I want students to go and have experiences like I did and live abroad, learn a new way of thinking, and meet new people,” Lambert said. “I think it will make the world better.”
After graduation, she went to live in Perugia, Italy, where she studied Italian language and art history. Her experience with Umbrian food culture inspired her to found Mozzarella Company in 1982. The company won widespread culinary acclaim for being among the first to introduce Old World handmade cheeses to the United States on a commercial scale.
The factory now produces more than 30 varieties, and Lambert has achieved accolades such as the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America and MBU’s Career Achievement Alumni Award.
Today Lambert focuses on leading gastronomic tours of Italy, France, and Ireland that showcase off-the-beaten-path destinations and singular experiences gleaned from her many travels.
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