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By Kathleen Sullivan | Chronicle Staff

Published: Apr. 26, 2012

Legendary money manager Mario J. Gabelli, a Boston College parent and longtime University benefactor, will be honored tonight at the 24th annual Boston College Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner in New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria.

Gabelli, who is chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, Inc., will be presented with the President’s Medal for Excellence in recognition of his achievements, exemplifying the Boston College motto “Ever to Excel.”

The black-tie dinner is expected to draw more than 1,000 guests and will feature an address by Gabelli as well as Presidential Scholar Jessica Seminelli ’12. The Wall Street Council co-chairs are T.J. Maloney ’75 and John V. Murphy ’71. Maloney and University President William P. Leahy, SJ, will present the medal to Gabelli.

Gabelli is a founding member of the Boston College Wall Street Council, a network of more than 1,700 BC alumni, parents and friends who work in and represent the financial community in New York. Through its annual dinners, the council has raised more than $25.6 million for BC’s Presidential Scholars Program. Boston College’s most academically gifted undergraduates are chosen for the Presidential Scholars Program, an extraordinary honors program that combines rigorous course work, community service, international experience and internships.

Since its inception, more than 200 Presidential Scholars have graduated, earning some of nation's most prestigious academic awards, including Rhodes Scholarships, Fulbright Grants, Marshall Scholarships, National Science Foundation Fellowships, Truman Scholarships, Beckman Scholarships, and many others.

Gabelli established the Gabelli Distinguished Presidential Scholarship and is a lead supporter of the Presidential Scholars Program. In addition, he has served as a University Trustee and Trustee Associate and has endowed the Mario J. Gabelli Professorship in Finance in the Carroll School of Management. In 1995, the residence hall at 80 Commonwealth Avenue was named in honor of Gabelli.