About

University of Maryland 1856 Society

The Mickey Dale Family Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) organization with a history of dedicated support for education since 2000. We have contributed educational support with undergraduate endowments to the University of Maryland, Gallaudet University, and the College of Southern Maryland. We are so proud of these contributions and the assistance it continually provides well-deserving students in need.

Background

The Mickey Dale Family (MDF) Foundation was born out of the all-too-familiar pain of losing a loved one too soon. For us, Mickey was a wife, mother, sister, and friend. When she passed, the depth of loss was excruciating.

Mickey’s husband, Bruce, channeled his grief into helping others, and it wasn’t long before he sought out the engineering department at the University of Maryland, where he graduated in 1964 with a Bachelor’s in Science, the year after he and Mickey married. Bruce continued his studies at UMD and after receiving his Master’s degree in Engineering, went on to Purdue University to earn his PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

Knowing the challenges of student finances first hand, Bruce made it his mission to help students in need. For 20 years, Bruce invested in the University of Maryland through multiple scholarship endowments. Every year, in perpetuity, scholarships are awarded to UMD Engineering students in need, in honor of his wife, Mickey.

In 2018, Bruce was honored with the Glenn L. Martin Medal by the Clark School of Engineering at UMD for his outstanding leadership, service, & philanthropy.

There were other causes that rose to importance over the years, but the compass for giving always rounded back to the University of Maryland. A hub of intelligence and opportunity that had appealed to Bruce since he was a child.

After 20 years of giving, Bruce looked to his children to carry the family’s philanthropic torch. Coincidentally, his daughter had recently donated her kidney to prevent another family the all-too-familiar pain of losing their loved one. And it worked.

With the support of the family, Jennifer lasered-focused the mission of the foundation in 2023 to a single goal: eliminating the organ transplant shortage.

Today, MDF supports research for the evolution of allogeneic transplants by collaborating with the brightest minds in science, medicine, engineering and public health at the University of Maryland (UMD). UMD is well equipped to accelerate the understanding and own the day nobody waits for an organ. We look forward to congratulating them.

Testudo, you go! Rock on, Terps!