Donors give to keep names off and options open
The Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seems to have tapped into that sentiment, with great success. They recently announced a commitment of $85 million from a group of 13 alumni who want to keep a name OFF the business school for the next 20 years. They call themselves the Wisconsin Naming Partnership. You can watch a video of the no-naming ceremony. The unusual gift is getting lots of coverage.
From the announcement:
The Wisconsin naming gift is the first of its kind received by a U.S. business school. Conventional business school naming gifts adopt the name of a single donor in perpetuity. By preserving the Wisconsin name for 20 years, this gift leaves open the option of future naming gifts.
UW-Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley calls the gift “a creative act of philanthropy and a major milestone for our university.”
“These partners have stepped forward to ensure that their deep pride in this school, this university and this state is passed along to the next generation of business students,” Wiley adds.
Before you think that this is all about altruism and high ideals… members of the naming partnership are going to provide advice to the business school on issue of naming rights in the future. From a CityNews interview:
Micheal Knetter, Dean of the School, has noticed that the price of naming rights has been skyrocketing in recent years. He suspects that by 2027, when the agreement is up, he could reap a major fortune by offering up the rights to the school’s name again, a figure he estimates could be worth an astounding $300 million or more by then.
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