Robert W. Dowling

Robert W. Dowling (September 9, 1895 – August 28, 1973) was a real estate investor and philanthropist in the New York City area.

[1] His father Robert Emmett Dowling was president of the City Investing real estate firm.

Although Dowling had no formal education beyond high school, his advice was sought for the design and establishment of the Parkchester, Stuyvesant Town, and Peter Cooper Village real estate ventures.

All three ventures marked a change in the classic New York City grid to create housing developments within a campus setting.

[5] Dowling, who was a friend of Adelphi University dean Allyn P. Robinson, provided a grant of $3 million in 1968, which allowed the Adelphi campus in Oakdale, New York to become independent and it became Dowling College.