Zarb Biz School ‘re-Bourne’ by alum’s $5M donation

By GREGORY ZELLER //

Let’s Call it “The Bourne Benefaction.”

All right, that’s a stretch – but an enormous donation from a famous Hofstra University graduate with close ties to the popular Jason Bourne film franchise will supercharge the Hempstead-based university’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business.

Hofstra announced Thursday that a $5 million gift from alumnus Jeffrey Weiner (Bachelor of Business Administration, 1979) and his wife, Tracey, will establish the Jeffrey M. Weiner Institute for Professional Services – a “hub for innovation, industry engagement and academic thought leadership,” according to the university.

Weiner, currently serving as chief executive officer of Mamaroneck-based Integrity Automotive Holdings, is known best as the longtime chairman and CEO of New York City-based accounting giant Marcum LLP, which was acquired in 2024 by Ohio-based CBIZ, a leading national provider of financial, insurance and advisory services.

He’s also cultivated an impressive career as a film and television producer. Weiner produced or executive produced several installments of Universal City Studios’ Jason Bourne series, as well as the 2006 CBS Television Network miniseries “The Hades Factor” and the 2019 USA Network espionage drama “Treadstone,” a short-lived spinoff based on author Robert Ludlum’s Bourne novels.

He’s now leaning into his role as a big-league philanthropist, lending his name – and a hefty seven-digit endowment – to a Zarb School institute designed to strengthen career-preparation protocols across a range of professional services.

The longtime member of the Zarb School’s high-voltage Advisory Board, who concentrated on accounting during his Hofstra days, credited his professional success to his alma mater, noting “none of what I accomplished … would have been possible without the foundation provided by Hofstra.”

“Academia gives you a foundation,” Weiner noted. “It builds your educational and technical skills.

“You then gain practical experience in the field and continue to build from there.”

Weiner has certainly put that educational foundation to good use over his four-decade career. In 1981, just two years out of Hofstra, he joined Marcum; by 1990, he’d risen to managing partner, a leadership role he’d hold until becoming Marcum’s first chairman and CEO in 2017.

During his reign, the firm grew from a single office with just 20 employees to one of the nation’s largest and most powerful accounting entities, with a global assortment of operations and clients. At the time of the CBIZ acquisition, Marcum was the 13th largest U.S.-based accounting firm based on annual revenue, with offices as far afield as Ireland and China.

With his legacy secure, Weiner is now focusing on the future – and doubling down on the Zarb School’s dual commitments to student development and academia/industry collaboration.

The new institute, he said Thursday, will “bridge the gap, so students not only receive the education they need to enter their chosen field, but they also understand what the field really looks like.”

And the Zarb School could not be more grateful for that, according to Hofstra University President Susan Poser.

“This generous gift from Jeffrey Weiner reflects the power of alumni leadership and the profound impact of a Hofstra education,” Poser said in a statement. “The Jeffrey M. Weiner Institute for Professional Services will expand opportunities for our students and reinforce Hofstra’s commitment to preparing graduates to excel in today’s evolving professional landscape.”