Widener University Alumnus Establishes Memorial Scholarships to Honor Victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting

Dan Borislow, Chief Executive Officer of magicJack and Inventor of magicJackTM, encourages CEOs nationwide to establish similar funds at their alma maters using their annual bonuses

Through a generous donation by magicJack from one of their alumni Dan Borislow, Widener University has established three full memorial scholarships to honor victims of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The siblings of those lost in the tragedy and dependents of the adults who lost their lives will be eligible for the scholarships, which will cover all costs over four years should they be accepted to Widener University.


“It is a constant education process that will be used to help heal the survivors and this education should obviously be provided at no cost,” said Borislow, Chief Executive Officer at magicJack. “I hope that my act inspires other CEOs and leaders in the business community to develop comparable endowments at their alma maters. I have foregone my entire bonus to help enable magicJack to make this donation. If there ever was a time to give, now is the time. If each CEO would donate just one scholarship to their alma maters we would have this covered.”

“I was deeply moved when Dan reached out to me in the wake of this tragedy to establish memorial scholarships to honor the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School,” said Widener President James T. Harris III.  “Dan’s desire to directly provide these students with the gift of education and encourage others to establish similar funds at their alma maters is a testament to the leadership and civic engagement mission that is instilled in our students and personified by Dan Borislow.”

In addition to the three full scholarships that Borislow’s donation will fund, Harris announced that the university would fund a fourth full scholarship. The scholarships will be available up to 20 years, or until all four scholarships are awarded. Eligible students may apply for the scholarship beginning in fall 2013. The last year of eligibility will be the 2032-33 academic year. Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Widener University at 610-499-4123 for more information.

Borislow has been in the telecommunications industry for more than 20 years and is recognized for pioneering and inventing the development of breakthrough technologies such as the magicJackTM. MagicJackTM is a free telephone service with over 11 million distributed. Most recently, magicJackTM was recognized with the most prestigious award for best voice-over-internet-protocol (VoIP) service in terms of quality, price, value and ease of use. Borislow’s generous philanthropic efforts have supported numerous children’s and women’s causes.