Remembering his parents

David Ferguson’s father died just eight years after he received his diploma from Loyola.

To honor and remember him, Ferguson, a member of the Class of 1977, and his wife, Kathy, decided to set up a small scholarship in his name. The Duard L. Ferguson endowment soon grew into a fund that benefited dozens of students with special physical needs over two decades.

When Ferguson’s mother, Mary, passed away last year, the Fergusons felt it was important to add her name to the scholarship—as well as to change the mission of the Duard L. and Mary L. Ferguson Scholarship Fund to make it more broadly available to students.

“Our gift is a great way to recognize my parents. They sacrificed to make Loyola available for me, and this gift thanks and remembers them,” Ferguson says. “We feel this scholarship will be especially pertinent as we think about educating the whole person, and about making Jesuit education specifically available to students who may not have that opportunity otherwise.”

The Fergusons’ gift will create an endowed scholarship for Loyola students who demonstrate financial need.

“Our children grew up in Vail, Colo., where Kathy and I supported numerous causes, including the Vail Mountain School, where our children were educated. We have been very fortunate. Philanthropy is a big part of our life, with a focus on children, education, and spiritual causes. We have really been focused on making education available and affordable for students in the communities we’ve been involved in.”

Ferguson grew up and went to high school outside of Baltimore in Glen Burnie, Md., before attending Loyola and the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met Kathy.

His career in private equity spans nearly three decades, including 15 years as a partner at JP Morgan Chase and 10 years at Weston Presidio. Ferguson currently works at Perella Weinberg Partners, an independent advisory and asset management firm. He co-founded the firm’s private equity effort in 2012 in Manhattan, where he and Kathy live today.

“A large objective of the Bright Minds, Bold Hearts campaign for Loyola is scholarship. We wanted our gift to support a key strategic initiative for the University, and the campaign at large,” says Ferguson, who serves on Loyola’s Board of Trustees.

“We believe this is the beginning. We are creating something that will make a Jesuit educational experience available to students for decades to come.”