“I am a product of the Milwaukee and suburban public schools. I am also a product of the public University of Wisconsin. Without these institutions, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
– Sheldon B. Lubar, Milwaukee business leader and philanthropist

Milwaukee business leader and philanthropist Sheldon B. Lubar donated $10 million — the largest single gift in the university’s 49-year history — to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Business Administration last week.

The money will be used to fund new professorships, provide student scholarships and begin a discretionary fund for the school.

“(Lubar’s gift) will have a transformational impact on our students and our faculty,” said V. Kanti Prasad, School of Business Administration dean. “It will also have a significant impact on the economic development of the region.”

In recognition of Lubar’s contribution, UWM administration will ask the UW System Board of Regents and UWM governing bodies to rename the current School of Business Administration the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business. The building would also be renamed in his honor.

In addition to his individual contribution of $10 million, Lubar said he plans to help the university raise additional funds that would be directed at the business school.

“Along with my gift of $10 million, I am challenging the Milwaukee business community to contribute $10 million in addition, and the state and UW System and UWM to add $10 million to the state base funding for the business school over the next five years,” Lubar said at a Feb. 6 press conference announcing his donation.

Lubar believes UWM, its business school and the economy of the region are inextricably linked.

“Each of our region’s schools, colleges and universities are important, but no institution is more important, or can match the impact that UWM has on Milwaukee,” he said.

The $10 million donation will be divided three ways. Sixty percent of it will help fund new business professorships.

“That will help us to attract some nationally known faculty members … some exceptional talent,” Prasad said. “It will contribute to faculty excellence, which translates to program excellence (and) student excellence.”

Thirty percent of Lubar’s gift will go toward need- and merit-based scholarships, which expands the already large scholarship program Lubar and his wife Marianne have set up for business students.

The final 10 percent of the donation will be allocated for a discretionary fund, for which the purpose is yet to be determined.

“That is one thing to be decided based on the needs of the school at the time the funds are available,” Prasad said.

Lubar’s donation is an endowment, Prasad said, which means that the school is able to spend “whatever the interest or return on the endowment is.”

“You don’t spend the principal, so it is a perpetual gift,” he said. “It has a perpetual impact, a long-term impact.”

Recently, Lubar agreed to serve as the honorary co-chair for the university’s comprehensive campaign, the goal of which is to raise $100 million for the university in an effort to fulfill Chancellor Carlos Santiago’s vision of UWM as a major research university.

Lubar’s contribution brings the total funds raised for the campaign to more than $55 million.

At the press conference, Lubar praised his local public education for allowing him to contribute the funds to the business school.

“I am a product of the Milwaukee and suburban public schools,” he said. “I am also a product of the public University of Wisconsin. Without these institutions, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Lubar also stressed the importance of education to the growth of the local community.

“Trust me if I tell you that the future of our community, the future of our state, will be determined by how well we educate our children,” he said. “I hope this gift will materially support that effort.”

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