Sheldon Lubar contributes $10 million to School of Business Administration 
Largest single donation in UW-Milwaukee historyThe University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee announced that distinguished Milwaukee business leader and philanthropist Sheldon B. Lubar, Founder and Chairman of Lubar & Company, Inc., has contributed $10 million to the UWM School of Business Administration. It is the largest single donation in the university's 49-year history. The new resources will be used to advance the school’s mission in a variety of ways, including funding for new professorships and student scholarships.
Mr. Lubar said his gift is meant to benefit the men and women who are preparing to work in a business environment that is changing rapidly. “The knowledge needed by our next generation of business leaders is expanding exponentially,” said Mr. Lubar. “With these new resources, UWM will be better able to prepare tomorrow’s leaders for all the challenges that the new global economy presents.”
“Mr. Lubar's gift will have a transformational impact on the School’s future, providing crucial resources as we work towards our vision to become a leading urban business school of national distinction,” said Business School Dean V. Kanti Prasad. “It will allow us to continue building steeples of excellence among our faculty, providing top-notch management education to our students, and contributing to the economic vitality of Southeastern Wisconsin. We are extremely grateful for his generosity, vision and commitment to future generations of business leaders and management professionals.”
Dean Prasad said that the gift and the additional resources it will stimulate will help the School build on the core strengths of the faculty and make breakthrough enhancements in four mutually reinforcing areas – faculty excellence, student excellence, programmatic innovation, and technology and infrastructure.
“A common thread that runs through all these four elements is the emphasis on bringing our curricula, programs, and research into a closer alignment with the needs of business competitiveness and economic development of the region,” said Dean Prasad, “allowing us to forge strong corporate linkages through knowledge partnerships in education and research.”
In addition to his personal gift of $10 million, Mr. Lubar said that he plans to help the university raise an additional $20 million that will be directed to the UWM School of Business Administration.
“This is a magnificent day for UW-Milwaukee,” said UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago. “Mr. Lubar's gift is an enormously important endorsement of UW-Milwaukee’s contributions to the community. It will help transform our School of Business Administration and greatly expand our ability to educate the business leaders of tomorrow. Our work to support regional economic development in Southeastern Wisconsin will be greatly enhanced as a result of Mr. Lubar's generosity.”
In recognition of Mr. Lubar’s commitment to the university, UW-Milwaukee administration will ask the UW System Board of Regents and UWM governance to rename the current School of Business Administration the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business. The School of Business Building at 3202 N. Maryland Ave. would also be renamed Lubar Hall.
“Mr. Lubar serves as a wonderful role model for our students and alumni,” said Dean Prasad. “The Lubar name is synonymous with the highest of achievements – as a universally admired and respected business leader, and individual with deep intellect and the highest standards of integrity, a leader who has demonstrated a sincere dedication to the community, and an exceptionally caring human being.
“It will therefore be a true honor for us to be named the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business,” added Prasad.
Mr. Lubar's distinguished career of public service has included his work as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. He also served the State of Wisconsin on its Commission on Education, the Commerce and Industry Task Force, and as a past president of the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents. He was the president and co-founder of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Mr. Lubar has been a very active member of the School of Business Advisory Council for over 30 years, and was president from 1985 to 1991. He is a UWM Foundation Distinguished Director, an organization for which he served as president from 1988 to 1990. Along with his wife, Marianne, Mr. Lubar has long supported numerous business students through the Sheldon B. and Marianne Lubar Scholarship Program and has funded the Sheldon Lubar Chair of Free Enterprise. In 1988, Mr. Lubar was recognized by UWM with an honorary doctoral degree in Commercial Science.
Born in Milwaukee, Sheldon B. Lubar earned business and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He then worked for Marine National Exchange Bank before becoming president of Marine Capital Corporation. In 1966 he formed Lubar & Company, a private investment firm active in corporate acquisitions and venture capital investment, while also serving as chairman and CEO of Mortgage Associates (1966-1973) and president and chairman of the executive committee of Midland National Bank (1975-1977), both of Milwaukee. He serves on numerous corporate boards.
The UW-Milwaukee School of Business Administration is a major metropolitan business school dedicated to academic excellence and committed to providing a high-quality educational experience. Its dynamic curriculum links academic content, current business models, and state-of-the-art technologies in all classrooms. Its full-time professors and instructional staff are recognized for excellence in teaching, research, and service, and instruct in academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Its prime urban location offers students unique access to the industrial, technological, and commercial energy of Southeast Wisconsin, and allows them to pursue a wide variety of employment and internship opportunities. The School of Business Administration has been accredited by AACSB-International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, for more than 30 years. Current enrollment at the school, which is the second-largest degree-granting institution on campus, is 4,400 students.
