Real estate developer and alumnus Stephen M. Ross will give $100 million to the University of Michigan business school that already bears his name and another $100 million to U-M Athletics, the university announced today. His most recent gift is the largest in the university’s history from a single donor. With lifetime giving of $313 million, he is the third-largest donor to a United States business school.
Ross, who earned his bachelor of business administration in accounting from the University of Michigan School of Business, as well as two subsequent law degrees elsewhere, made an earlier gift of $100 million in 2004 toward construction of a new building and endowed operations for the business school. That building, which was named in Ross’s honor, was completed in 2009.
The additional $100 million gift to the business school announced today will create contemporary, collaborative spaces for the business school’s 6,000 students, a state-of-the-art career services space and enhanced recruiting center, innovative classrooms equipped with advanced technology and new scholarships for Ross students, among other projects. The $100 million gift toward athletics will support student-athletes on all 31 University of Michigan teams, development of state-of-the-art sports and related facilities and more.
“Stephen Ross provided us with the resources and vision to develop our signature Ross building,” Ross School of Business Dean Alison Davis-Blake said in a statement. “His most recent gift will allow us to build on that success and create a true business campus — one that features innovative design and advanced technology to empower students and faculty who share our mission to develop leaders who make a positive difference in the world,” she continued.
Ross is chairman and founder of real estate development firm Related Companies, which developed New York City’s Time Warner Center and is leading development of the 26-acre Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s West Side, among other projects. He also owns the Miami Dolphins, is a trustee of Lincoln Center, New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Guggenheim Foundation, and is a director of the World Resources Institute and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.
Ross credits the University of Michigan with playing a critical role in his success. Earlier this year he signed the Giving Pledge, a long-term, global initiative created by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, and pledged to give half or more of his wealth to charity.
Learn more about Stephen Ross’s $200 million gift to the University of Michigan.
