Stephen Ross donates another $200 Million

Submitted by Bluegriz on

Report: Ross to give $200 million in largest-ever donation to University

The article gives the details and apparently there is a press conf today (Wednesday).  Impressive.  Some of the donation will go to athletics.  

http://www.michigandaily.com/node/73392

bluebyyou

September 4th, 2013 at 5:35 AM ^

Good for him. Wealthy and generous alums really make a difference.

I've wondered for a while if Larry Page plans to make a large donation one of these days as he is only worth about 25 billion.

Crash

September 4th, 2013 at 8:23 AM ^

Not to be a total buzzkill, but his seat is in a suite next to Dave Brandon's at about the 35-yard line (west side).  Can you imagine what kind of donation it would take to get Mary Sue's seat?  She and Dave Brandon have suites on either side of the 50.  This university has ungodly amounts of money.

LSAClassOf2000

September 4th, 2013 at 6:17 AM ^

"In an interview with the Journal, Ross, 73, said the donation will “finish the job” in completing renovations on the Business School’s other buildings. In the last fifteen years, every one of the top 10 business schools in the country has spent at least $30 million on upgrades to its facilities. One of the chief factors in convincing Ross to give his original $100 million donation was to help keep Michigan’s business school competitive with peer institutions."

It's always great to see even the most successful members of the Michigan community continue to circle back, reconnect and give back to Michigan. It speaks to the sort of culture and atmosphere that permeates campus, part of that being a sense of "family" and belonging. 

MGoShoe

September 4th, 2013 at 6:24 AM ^

...eponymous Business School, half to the Athletics Department. South Campus to be renamed The Stephen M. Ross Athletics Center pending approval by U-M Regents.

RedShirt232

September 4th, 2013 at 8:31 AM ^

Although I greatly appreciate Mr. Ross's generosity, am I the only one not thrilled that the athetlic campus -- which includes buildings named for Schembechler, Crisler, Yost, and Oosterbaan -- is being renamed after a man who happens to be a wealthy donor?

JohnnyBlue

September 4th, 2013 at 8:02 AM ^

maybe we will now get that football stadium expansion that was hinted at but passed over for the olympic sport upgrade.  10-20k more "cheap" seats would be nice.

CalGoBlue

September 4th, 2013 at 8:37 AM ^

If you are an undergraduate student, unless you're in B-school or an athlete, you get nothing.  An unfortunate problem with Michigan that doesn't seem to end.

gotohail

September 4th, 2013 at 9:12 AM ^

One of the girls I went to High School with ended up getting accepted to Purdue... She majored and graduated with a degree in Comp Lit. She was so proud of her accomplishment and made sure to share that fact with anyone and everyone.. Till employers would tell her she didn't have the right skills needed. The degree from Purdue got her the interviews but she just did not have the knowledge to do the jobs she wanted. Long story short she ended up back at a for profit college with a nursing degree. Yay for Comp Lit!

dnak438

September 4th, 2013 at 9:53 AM ^

A lot of English majors and Comp Lit majors do quite well for themselves.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/06/the-best-argument-for-studying-english-the-employment-numbers/277162/

And there's more to a University than getting a job. Last time I checked the motto of our University was still artes, scientia, veritas -- arts, knowledge, truth -- not "come here for your job training."

sdogg1m

September 4th, 2013 at 8:53 AM ^

I am happy for the school and thrilled that Mr. Ross has it in his power to give but Michigan has a huge endowment and seems little interested in making use of it in a way that will help society.

Without getting into to much deep discussion, we need medical doctors! Training for these professionals cost a fortune and contributes to fewer citizens obtaining a medical degree. Use some of this money to train doctors at a cheaper cost, we will need them.

gopoohgo

September 4th, 2013 at 9:25 AM ^

Nah it isn't as big of a barrier as one may think.

Banks drool at the thought of lending money to physicians (or future physicians).  We're a relatively low risk of default, and the thought is we will continue to do business with them in the future.  Typically, the loans are offered at below-market rates in hopes of enticing future business out of us.

Aaand, there is always either the US Public Health Corps, or the ROTC programs that will foot your tuition bill for varying degrees of service (primary care + Obgyn in "medically underserved" communities, or 4 years active/8 years reservist military).

It IS expensive, but after 4 years of medschool you are pretty much guaranteed a 40-50K/yr job for 3-7+ years.  And if you don't totally F-up, a 6 figure job after that. 

The only thing that debt burden does is shunt folks towards specialties rather than primary care. 

 

 

MichiganG

September 4th, 2013 at 8:54 AM ^

Not directly, no, but indirectly, yes.  Keep in mind the success of the entire University relies heavily on the success of the Medical, Business, and Law Schools.  Unlike the other Schools that receive money from the University in order to operate, these Schools actually make net payments to the rest of the University that fund the other Schools (I'm actually guessing the Law school is included in that, but definitely the case for the Medical School/Health System and the Business School.)

TheDirtyD

September 4th, 2013 at 10:28 AM ^

I guess get better more successful alums and convince them to give back? The Ross school and the athletic program is world famous he's just trying to keep it that way.( not saying there aren't other programs just as good) Not to mention you can get a pretty decent ROI for the athletic donation so in the end maybe that money gets spread toward your program?

ppToilet

September 4th, 2013 at 8:53 AM ^

I am an absolute turd in terms of giving. Not only in total amount, but also likely in percent of wealth. Good for him and good for U of M. Glad we have alumni that care this much bout their alma mater.

Space Coyote

September 4th, 2013 at 9:04 AM ^

So guys with his kind of money generally can do these sorts of things off interest alone. Now personally, if I had money like this, I'd be like Jeff Bezos and start a rocket company and find F1 rockets at the bottom of the ocean. I also would own an NFL team that wasn't the Dolphins.

But it is awesome how much he gives back to the University. And while athletic upgrades and academic building upgrades are nice, I think personally if I was to start donating this kind of cash, it would be for scholarships. As most of us are all too aware, the cost of college is incredibly high. Even if you are just cutting the costs by 25% for a ton of students, it goes an incredibly long ways to getting helping more students get one of the best damn educations in the world, and I think that would mean more. But that's just my personal opinion. I'm not going to hate on a guy for giving up $200 mil of his own money back to the University either way, just saying what I would do.

I'd also put huge walls on North Campus splitting the two weirdest groups of people: art/music students and engineers, so they wouldn't even be tempted to interact. But I'm an engineer, I can dream can't I?

matty blue

September 4th, 2013 at 9:17 AM ^

"there are hundreds of athletic directors waking up all over the country right now.  i guarantee i'm the happiest."

apparently velveeta called - they want to do a "marching band shell...and cheese" promo on saturday night.  it's okay, though, they're giving the athletic department twenty bucks.

StephenRKass

September 4th, 2013 at 9:34 AM ^

I find it a bit annoying that some feel the need to criticize Ross for how he chooses to use his own money. It's his money, which he earned. That gives him the right and privilege to dispose of it as he sees fit. As it is, he may well give anonymously to other organizations.

The other thing is that every individual has the ability to do what they can with their own resources. It isn't just the size of the gift, it is the percentage of income given that matters. I am a man of somewhat modest means. In the end, by giving regularly and generously, (largely for religious purposes,) I'll be contributing more than a half million over my lifetime.

I guess I think Ross's generosity is to be lauded. And those with different prioritites should be glad to support the causes which they find important, without sniping at Ross and what he chooses to do. Virtually everyone can make a difference in this world, if they choose to do so.

Wendyk5

September 4th, 2013 at 10:24 AM ^

Just my personal opinion: I think it's great that he gives back, and it's his choice where he puts the money. And so I applaud him for that. I just wish....not to pick on him personally because it seems like it's the fashion.......I wish people who give the mega dollars didn't feel the need to have things named after themselves. I think they should get credit every time the new facillity/building/whatever is mentioned, but can't we just leave it as the Michigan Athletic Facility? I would hate for Schembechler Hall to one day be called the Stephen R. Ross/Schembechler Hall. In Chicago, a huge new children's hospital was built to replace Children's Memorial Hospital(our Mott's), and it's called Lurie Children's Hospital, after the donor. I prefer the way it used to be. Let it be about the kids (or about Michigan) and not the donor.