95 5 Transforming the UW Business School
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The fall of 2012 marks both the 95th anniversary of our business school at the UW, and the 5th anniversary of the renaming of the school to the Michael G. Foster School of Business. But who was Michael G. Foster? And how has our school changed over the last five years? Born in 1937, the son of Seattle business icon Albert O. Foster and his wife, Evelyn, a leading figure in the cultural life of the city, Michael G. Foster inherited a legacy of generosity and public service from his parents, who were also both UW alumni. Foster took the helm of Foster & Marshall, the investment firm his father founded, becoming president in 1971. Shortly after assuming leadership, Michael had a near-fatal auto accident during a fishing trip to Alaska. The lengthy process of recuperation, which included five operations and months spent in a body cast, gave him plenty of time to reflect on the future of the firm. In later life, Foster described his forced confinement as a “real plus,” that allowed him to map out a new, aggressive strategy for the company by greatly expanding the range of its financial products and services. His vision made Foster & Marshall the biggest and best investment firm in the Northwest. After selling Foster & Marshall to Shearson/American Express in 1982, Michael and his parents established The Foster Foundation in 1984—which gives to a wide array of causes, such as education, the arts, health and human services. One of the first major gifts of The Foster Foundation was $3 million in 1990 to help build a new business library for the UW Business School that would carry his parents’ names. In 2007, The Foster Foundation brought its total contributions to the UW Business School to $50 million with a gift of $36.5 million. To honor this gift and the life of The Foster Foundation’s co-founder, the University of Washington’s Board of Regents renamed the UW Business School the Michael G. Foster School of Business on Sept. 20, 2007. With that gift, the school has been able to grow and evolve, adding new, state-of-the-art facilities in PACCAR Hall and the newly opened Business Hall. The school has added more and better faculty, attracted top-notch students and increased visibility of our impeccable reputation. Join us as we take a look at what has been happening at the Foster School over the last five years.
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