The University of North Texas in Denton will create
the G. Brint Ryan College of Business following
a US$30 million commitment—the largest gift in
university history—from alumnus G. Brint Ryan and
his wife, Amanda. The gift will create at least six
endowed chairs and provide funding for initiatives
over seven years. Areas of focus include taxation
and tax research, entrepreneurship, finance, logistics,
information technology, cybersecurity, and behavioral
accounting. Ryan, founder of a tax services
firm and software provider, is also chairman of the
UNT System Board of Regents.
The W.P. Carey Foundation will direct US$25
million toward a fundraising goal of $50 million
for the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona
State University in Tempe. Of these funds,
approximately $15 million will support additional
staff, mentors, and technology within the school’s
career services function, and $10 million will endow
two new faculty appointments known as the Carey
Chairs. The donation marks the launch of a fundraising
campaign, spearheaded by the W.P. Carey
Foundation and the ASU Foundation, to raise an
additional $25 million for the business school.
North Texas real estate developers Donna and Herb
Weitzman have gifted US$3 million to the Naveen
Jindal School of Management at the University of
Texas in Dallas. The gift establishes the Herbert
D. Weitzman Institute for Real Estate.
Badia Spices Inc. will donate US$1 million to
Florida International University in Miami to
create the Badia Spices Scholarship Endowment
at the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism
Management. The school will use the endowment
primarily to fund scholarships for first-generation
Chaplin students, as well as programs that enrich
their educational experiences.
Indiana University in Bloomington has
announced a US$3 million gift from accounting
firm Grant Thornton LLP to establish the Grant
Thornton Institute for Data Exploration for Risk
Assessment and Management, or GT-IDEA. The interdisciplinary
institute will span IU Bloomington’s
Kelley School of Business, the School of Public and
Environmental Affairs, and the School of Informatics,
Computing and Engineering. GT-IDEA students
will gain experience working on real industry issues,
engage in case studies and competitions, and
interact with risk assessment and management
practitioners from Grant Thornton. GT-IDEA will
provide an integrated platform that allows users
to explore emerging technologies and to measure,
quantify, and predict risk with data.