UW Names Business School to Honor Michael G. Foster

University of Washington president Mark A. Emmert announced that the UW Business School is being renamed in recognition of gifts from The Foster Foundation totaling $50 million, with $46.5 million made during Campaign UW: Creating Futures. The School will be called the Michael G. Foster School of Business.

"Mike Foster was a genuine Northwest businessman,” said Jill Goodsell, The Foster Foundation’s executive director. “He had an uncanny way of enriching many lives within his realm – an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the word. The Foundation's gift to the UW is perfect in so many ways, enabling Mike’s legacy as a true Northwest business leader to live on in perpetuity.”

The Foster Foundation made the gift in memory of Foster, who died in 2003. He and his parents co-founded The Foster Foundation in 1984.

“We are very grateful to The Foster Foundation for this extraordinary gift," said UW President Mark A. Emmert. "Their belief in the power of education to transform lives and give students the opportunity to prosper and grow is heartening. This gift will help our Business School excel and change to meet the constantly evolving demands of business education, and I am thrilled it will forever bear the name of Michael Foster."

The UW Business School has raised more than $155 million since it began raising funds in 2000 as part of the UW’s Creating Futures campaign. Of this, $25 million has been raised for faculty endowments, $20 million for student scholarships and almost $62 million for the school’s new facilities. The Creating Futures campaign had an original goal of $2 billion, which was increased last January after the University reached the goal 17 months ahead of schedule. The campaign concludes in June 2008 with a goal of $2.5 billion.

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