Alma G. Gildenhorn ’53 and friends of Joseph B. Gildenhorn ’51 established the Joseph B. Gildenhorn Maryland Promise Scholarship in June 2024 under the auspices of the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise Program. This fund is named in memory of Alma Gildenhorn’s husband, Joseph B. Gildenhorn. It provides need-based scholarships for undergraduate students who are residents of Maryland or the District of Columbia, with preference for students in the Robert H. Smith School of Business.
Together with her husband, Alma Gildenhorn is a generous supporter of the performing arts at the University of Maryland and established the Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies at the University. Both Mr. and Mrs. Gildenhorn were founding members of University of Maryland College Park Foundation’s board of trustees, where Mrs. Gildenhorn is currently recognized as an honorary trustee. Mrs. Gildenhorn has been a longtime UMD volunteer, including serving as a co-chair of the University’s three comprehensive fundraising campaigns.