Volunteer, philanthropist Jeff King: Remembering a Penn State legend

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. –– A 2006 phone call from Penn State Smeal College of Business alum Jeffery “Jeff” King marked a turning point for real estate studies at Penn State.

King, who graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in marketing in 1967, built a distinguished career in real estate, founding National Properties Inc. — a real estate investment, property management, and development firm based in Malvern, Pennsylvania — alongside his brother, Steve, in 1971. The firm would grow to be among the most influential real estate firms in the greater Philadelphia area, particularly in the multifamily housing market. King also became a champion for real estate education at Smeal.

A longtime Penn State volunteer and philanthropist, King passed away on Aug. 1, after a long illness.

“I offer my deepest sympathy to Jeff’s family. Jeff and Cindy King have been extraordinary leaders for Penn State — visionaries whose generosity and commitment have lifted our entire University,” said Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi.

“Their impact can be seen in classrooms, in research labs and in countless student lives. Jeff's legacy is one of excellence, service and belief in the power of education to transform communities. We will honor his memory by carrying forward his vision — in real estate education and research, and other places touched by the Kings’ remarkable philanthropy and service.”

Jeff King’s lifelong connection to Penn State and real estate education prompted him to call real estate scholar Brent Ambrose when Smeal was trying to recruit Ambrose away from the University of Kentucky in 2006. And, according to Ambrose, there’s no doubt why King was so generous in sharing his time and treasure with the University.

“Jeff spent an hour talking with me about Penn State and why I should accept the position,” Ambrose recalled. “I was very impressed that someone of Jeff’s stature would spend so much time on the phone with me. That call played a significant role in my decision to come to Penn State.”

According to his daughter, Julie King Borrelli, Jeff King came from humble beginnings.

“My parents married and my sister Karilyn was born while my dad was in college. To support his family, he took a job underneath College Avenue shoveling coal into the boilers that serviced the businesses along the street. Over the years, it’s become a bit of a legend in our family, but that work ethic and commitment to family speaks to who he was,” she said. “He was a devoted husband and father, and his generosity seemed to know no bounds.”

King’s wife, Cindy, fondly recalled the early days of their marriage.

“Jeff came home every evening looking like a coal miner, so I spent a lot of time at the laundromat,” she said. “That’s a memory that will always resonate with me as an example of how hard he was willing to work for us and for the people, organizations and communities he cared about.”

Despite his remarkable business success with National Properties Inc., he considered the restoration of a Revolutionary War-era home and barn on the outskirts of Valley Forge National Historic Park among his proudest accomplishments. It was there that King spent his final days: watching deer and foxes roam outside his window and his beloved Eagles and Phillies on TV, with Cindy always by his side.

In 2000, the Kings created the Jeffery L. and Cindy M. King Faculty Fellowship in Business, and Ambrose became the first Smeal faculty member to hold the position.

“The resources from that fund provided me with opportunities to further my research in ways that would not have been possible had I stayed at Kentucky,” Ambrose said. “The Kings also created the King Family Early Career Professorship in Real Estate, which allowed Smeal to attract a prominent researcher away from Cornell.”

In 2008, King became a founding member of the Penn State Real Estate Advisory Board, a group of industry professionals who advise and promote real estate education, research and outreach initiatives at Smeal.

“Jeff’s philanthropy and leadership help set the tone for how the board would operate and support the Penn State real estate program and even helped inspire Julie Borrelli and her husband, Jason Borrelli, to make their own gifts to the real estate program,” Ambrose said. “Real estate education and research at Smeal is infinitely better because of Jeff, and he will be sorely missed.”

Inspired by King’s philanthropy, Penn State alumni and current Campaign Leadership Council volunteers Jason and Julie Borrelli created the Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate and provided endowed support for the Borrelli Institute for Real Estate Studies. According to Ambrose, these gifts were instrumental in allowing Smeal to re-establish its real estate major — a longstanding goal for King and other members of the Penn State Real Estate Advisory Board — in 2023.

Julie Borrelli said she was happy to play a role in realizing her father’s vision for Smeal’s real estate program.

“Real estate touches so many different aspects of business, and it’s important for students to be exposed to it,” she said. “Jason and I were thrilled to see real estate as a stand-alone major come to fruition. Knowing this is something that started so long ago, that my dad had his hands in, and Jason and I helped carry across the finish line is so meaningful for our family.”

In addition to their philanthropy at Smeal — where they established the King Family Early Career Professorships in both Real Estate and Marketing as part of a $3 million commitment to Penn State in 2013 – the Kings also created these funds:

• The King Family Conservation Endowment was established with a $1 million gift to University Libraries. The Conservation Unit, under the direction of the University Libraries Conservator, is tasked with the preservation of rare, noncirculating items — including more than 200,000 printed volumes, more than 25 million archival records and manuscripts, and another million photographs, maps, prints and audio-visual items that make up the Special Collections Library. Jeff’s interest in history, and the importance he placed on new generations learning from the past, led him and Cindy to create this fund to assist the University Libraries conservator with the preservation of rare artifacts, ensuring that students have access to these materials through the Special Collections Library.
• The King Family Impact Endowment, funded with a $1 million pledge to the College of Education, supports research efforts and intervention programs focused on social issues concerning elementary and secondary students. Over the past decade alone, projects funded by the King Family Endowment have combatted bullying behaviors in elementary and high school settings; empowered adolescents to promote growth, empowerment and resistance; and enhanced support for students with emotional-behavioral health needs. The positive impact of Jeff’s and Cindy’s enduring partnership with the College of Education to improve the lives of elementary and secondary school students cannot be overstated.

Among his volunteer roles at Penn State, King was an executive volunteer for “For the Future: The Campaign for Penn State Students,” which raised more than $2.1 billion in private philanthropic support. He also served as a Presidential Counselor from 2014 to 2022.

In 1999, the Kings established the King Family Foundation, with a mission to fund causes that serve the unique needs of individuals facing social, emotional or physical challenges. Their philanthropy to Penn State was directed through the foundation.

Motivated by personal experience with Lynch Syndrome, the most common cause of inherited colorectal and other cancers, the Kings established the King Center for Lynch Syndrome and the Jeffery and Cynthia King Professorship of Lynch Syndrome Research at Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center. According to Julie Borrelli, Lynch Syndrome affects approximately 1.2 million individuals in the United States.

They also sponsor Penn Medicine's annual Lynch Syndrome Symposium and provide multiple travel awards for early career health care providers in cancer genetics from other institutions to attend or present at the symposium.

“Jeff King and his family are widely known both in and out of the Penn State community for their philanthropic spirit,” Ambrose said. “That’s a remarkable legacy.”