Southern Management Companies has received the inaugural Presidential Flagship Award from the University of Maryland. University President Darryll J. Pines presented Southern Management President and CEO Suzanne Hillman with the award at the university on March 2. 

The award honors university partners for their outstanding commitment to advancing the greater College Park metro as an educational, research and business corridor. 

“Southern Management shares our ambitious vision for the future. They have invested in our diverse student body and the greater College Park community,” said Pines in a release. “Their impact and generosity are extraordinary, and we are pleased to honor them with this award.” 

The award specifically recognizes the Southern Management Leadership Program (SMLP), which was started in 2006 by Suzanne Hillman and the late David Hillman. The four-year scholarship program is tailored toward students who transfer from Prince George’s Community College and Montgomery College to the University of Maryland to finish their bachelor’s degree.

“I am very humbled that the University of Maryland chose Southern as the recipient of its first-ever Presidential Flagship Award,” said Hillman in the release. “Giving back and being of service is one of my core values. My parents gave to me, and I want to pay it forward. The ability to make a difference in a young person’s life is the greatest gift and the best investment in our collective future.”

Southern Management Companies owns and manages 77 apartment communities comprising more than 25,000 apartment homes in the Baltimore-Washington region.