University of Michigan Gets a $100 Million Gift

[Charles Brown <cbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

University of Michigan Gets a $100 Million Gift

By GREG WINTER
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Published: September 9, 2004



T <http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/dropcap/t.gif> he University of
Michigan has received its largest gift ever, $100 million, from a New York
real estate magnate.

The donor is Stephen M. Ross, the chairman of the Related Companies, which
built the $1.7 billion Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. Mr. Ross is
now working to bring the Olympics to New York in 2012.



Mr. Ross, a native of Detroit and a Michigan graduate, said he gave the
money to establish what he hoped would become the nation's "best business
school," anchored by an "iconic, modern building" on Michigan's campus. The
university described the gift as the largest ever given to a business
school, giving ample reason for the school to bear Mr. Ross's name.

"Naming is in perpetuity, so you only get to do this once," said Robert J.
Dolan, dean of the business school. "That's why it's such a large gift." The
official announcement of the gift is scheduled for Thursday.

Tufts University said Wednesday that it had also received its largest
donation ever, $50 million from the Cummings Foundation, to support its
veterinary school. The foundation was started by William and Joyce Cummings,
a Massachusetts real estate developer and his wife.

Some university officials cautioned against interpreting the two milestones
as a sign that university fund-raising was particularly strong nationwide.

"It's always hard to look out and say, 'Does this reflect anything about the
economy or gifts as a whole?' " said Lawrence S. Bacow, the president of
Tufts. "Gifts of this magnitude are long in the making."

Even so, some indicators show that gift-giving, including to colleges and
universities, has gathered momentum this year. According to the Center on
Philanthropy at Indiana University, the number of donations valued at $1
million or more rose to 351 in the second quarter of 2004, a 33 percent
increase from the same period last year and a 35 percent increase from the
first quarter of this year. More than half of those donations, moreover,
supported higher education.