U-M receives record-setting $200-million donation from Stephen Ross

Source: Detroit Free PressSept.儲存倉 04--Stephen Ross is giving the University of Michigan $200 million, making it the largest single gift in the history in the university and Ross the largest donor.The money will be split between the university's business school -- already named for Ross -- and the athletic department.It will be announced this morning in a press conference to be attended by U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, business school dean Alison Davis-Blake and athletic director Dave Brandon. Faculty and staff at the business school will celebrate the gift with at a special gathering this morning."Stephen Ross' vision has always been about the ability of facilities to transform the human experience," Coleman said in a press release. "He understands the power of well-conceived spaces, and his generosity will benefit generations of Michigan students, faculty and coaches.""This historic gift is not only an investment in the University of Michigan, but also in our state. Steve Ross believes deeply in our collective future as national and global leaders."In advance of the press conference, U-M released general details of how the money will be spent.According to the university, the money headed to the business school will fund:-- 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 companies and careers.-- New spaces to support an "admission to alumni" approach to student and career services with 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.-- Scholarships for Ross students.According to the university, the money going to the athletic department will:-- Provide student-athletes on all 31 teams with the necessary resource迷你倉價錢 to be academically and athletically successful.-- Develop state-of-the-art facilities that create a sense of community, identity and tradition for all of the teams.-- Create additional spaces that help student-athletes develop skills for success after athletics.-- Build facilities that are a destination for local, state, national and international competitions.In addition, the athletic campus will be named for Ross."Steve made his first gift to athletics to help build our Ross Academic Center and is now making a commitment to Michigan athletics that will impact over 900 student-athletes across all 31 of our teams," Brandon said in the release. "We are excited and grateful for Steve's generous support, and we look forward to appropriately recognizing Steve and celebrating this historic gift."The donation is the kickoff gift to the university's next capital campaign, which will formally begin in November.Ross' gift places him behind only New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in terms of total money given to higher education, according to statistics gathered by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Bloomberg has pledged $350 million to John Hopkins University.The $200 million gift raises Ross' total giving to U-M to at least $313 million. He gave $100 million in 2004 to help the fund the business school's renovation. He also has given $5 million to the athletic department's academic center and $1 million to endow a professorship in real estate at the business school that bears his name.At the time, his $100 million gift was the largest from an individual in U-M history. That was topped in April when Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, gave U-M $110 million to build a new graduate residence hall.Ross is the founder and chairman of Related Companies, a real-estate development firm. He graduated from U-M's business school in 1962 and earned a law degree from Wayne State University. He's also majority owner of the Miami Dolphins football team.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉