$100M Gift for Michigan Ross School

by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Sep 15, 2013

Business school namesake and alumnus Stephen M. Ross will give $200 million to the University of Michigan to significantly transform the student experience at the business school and athletic campus, the school announced recently.

The Ross School and U-M Athletics will each receive $100 million, which is in addition to the $100 million he gave in 2004, making Ross's gift the third largest to a business school in the United States. The first gift went toward a new building and endowed operations for the business school, which was renamed in recognition of his gift. The building was completed in 2009.

In her MBA admissions blog, Soojin Kwon noted that earlier this year, Ross committed to give half or more of his wealth to charity and signed the Giving Pledge, a global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates to inspire deeper engagement in philanthropy and increase charitable giving.

The Ross School of Business proposes to create:

• New spaces for students to study, collaborate and connect with each other, faculty and potential employers.
• A state-of-the-art career services space including an enhanced recruiting center to connect students with the best companies and careers.
• New spaces to support an "admission to alumni" approach to student and career services with dynamic events and opportunities on campus and beyond.
• A space to bring together faculty, students and corporate partners to create practice-oriented research on topics of key importance to local and global firms.
• Classrooms infused with advanced technology and innovative design to support in-person and virtual collaboration and connectivity on a global scale.
• The new and existing facilities will be seamlessly integrated both inside and out to create one campus.
• Scholarships for Ross students.

Ross earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the U-M Business School in 1962, a law degree from Wayne State University and a master of law degree in taxation from New York University.

"The University of Michigan had a profound impact on my life and I have received enormous satisfaction from being able to give back to the institution that played such a critical role in my success," said Ross in a statement announcing the gift.

"I am thrilled to be able to make such an impactful contribution and to not only help write the next chapter for the University, but also offer much-needed scholarships to ensure we continue to attract the best and the brightest students and provide them with the financial resources they need."

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