Milestone Gift Names Zilberman Family Center for Global Collections

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries is pleased to announce a naming gift from Penn Libraries Board of Advisors member Stephanie Zilberman, WG’01 and her husband Dan Zilberman, WG’01 to create the Zilberman Family Center for Global Collections. The gift has brought fundraising to a key threshold for the capital project that will transform the fifth floor of the Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center into a thriving hub for engagement with Penn's global collections.

"This milestone gift from the Zilberman family sets in motion our plans for a vibrant center of academic life and collaboration that cultivates global citizens and prepares them to navigate an increasingly interconnected world," says Brigitte Weinsteiger, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. "With the strong momentum spurred by this gift, we are ready to secure our final commitments and bring this project to fruition."

The Zilberman Center exemplifies the Penn Libraries’ commitment to foster programming, pedagogy, and resources that promote a deep understanding of global issues and cultural competence. To date, more than 20 donors have rallied behind the capital project, which launched in 2023. The Penn Libraries aims to secure the philanthropic commitments needed to fully support the project by June 2026.

The new home for the Zilberman Center is part of a larger effort to strategically redesign Libraries spaces for a new era of learning and interaction. The facility will include a gallery to showcase global acquisitions and collections, a forum to host lively discussion and debate, and a variety of spaces to study alone or in small groups — in addition to seminar rooms and offices for librarians specializing in African, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Russian and East European, and South Asian studies.

"As a member of the Penn Libraries Board of Advisors, I am always excited and eager to support areas of greatest need for the Libraries," Stephanie Zilberman says. "Our family’s international history and perspective aligns very well with the mission of the Center for Global Collections. For these reasons, this was a natural area of the Libraries for us to support."

By strengthening learning experiences and opportunities for interdisciplinary research and collaboration, the new state-of-the-art facility will enhance Penn’s strengths as an interwoven and engaged university, sparking dialogue and forging connections across differences and divides, thereby building a more rigorous, more resourceful, and more effective institution.

Brian Vivier, who was named director of the Center in 2022, has spent the past three years assembling a team of experts to manage geographic collecting areas, travel to diverse and widespread regions to collect rare materials and strengthen professional relationships, and offer innovative programming for audiences across the globe.

"Our team has really hit the ground running on initiatives to expand and enhance our global collections and engage the Penn community across disciplines through dynamic programming. We are deeply grateful to the Zilberman family for their generosity and leadership with their naming gift, which lays the foundation for our exciting next steps as we prepare schematics and a construction schedule for our dedicated space," Vivier says. "We can't wait to break ground on the Zilberman Center project as a focal point for further collaboration and discovery in global studies."

As dedicated alumni and Penn Libraries supporters, the Zilbermans previously named the Zilberman Family Director of the Lippincott Library and funded the care and maintenance of the Libraries’ Jewish music and sound collection. By supporting an array of philanthropic initiatives, the Zilbermans aim to lead by example as they focus their generosity on this important capital project, which helps to cement Penn's role as a leading global university.

As the project proceeds, the Zilbermans hope to spread the word about the impact a gift to the Penn Libraries has on the entire Penn community.

"We believe that education is fundamental to both social mobility and the advancement of humanity. America’s great universities have been, and will continue to be, paramount to this effort. To us, nothing is more central to a university’s ethos than its libraries," Stephanie Zilberman says. "It was for that reason that I decided to join the Penn Libraries Board of Advisors, and that we have been excited and proud to support the Libraries philanthropically."

To learn more about how you can support the Zilberman Family Center for Global Collections and help us meet our fundraising goal, contact Doug Stuart.