Foster deposits $10 million for business building

Kayla Webley
2004-12-02
The Daily

The UW Business School received a $10 million gift from the Foster Foundation yesterday to further progress on the school's new facility.

The "naming gift" amount allows one of the new business school buildings to be named after the late Michael G. Foster, a 1959 UW graduate, said Vance Roley, acting Business School dean.

The Foster Foundation has a history of giving to the UW Business School, including donations toward the school's library, which was named after Albert and Evelyn Foster.

Michael Foster, a prominent Seattle businessman who passed away last December, is one of four sons of Evelyn and Albert. Albert Foster co-founded the Foster and Marshall investment firm.

"It is a great boost to our campaign goals. It will keep the progress going and start momentum on the project," said Roley.

The Foster gift brings the private giving total up to $35 million, said Roley. The private giving, plus a $23 million commitment from the UW, is more than half of what is needed to complete the project.

"Our goal was $105 million. We have raised $58 million ... that leaves us $47 million to raise," said Roley.

The money will allow the business school to begin the design phase, pending approval from central administration.

"We still need to go to the central administration and make the case that we can raise the rest of the money," said Roley. "We had to raise $32 million before we could make the case."

The Business School is hoping to begin the detailed design process after the first of the year, said Roley.

"We have spent our own money to go through a pre-design phase. So we have pictures of what the facilities would look like in general terms," said Roley.

The project involves building two new buildings and completely remodeling Balmer Hall.

The money to remodel Balmer is coming directly from the money comitted by the UW.

"Most of the $23 million is going to remodel Balmer Hall completely," said Roley. "Basically we will keep the support pillars."

The rest of the funding from the UW will go toward a new auditorium and to replace parking that will be lost because the new business campus that will be built over the N-4 parking lot.

The $35 million raised so far, as well as any future donations, will go directly toward designing and constructing the new facilities.

"We are incredibly grateful to the Foster Foundation and the investment they have made in the Business School," said Roley. "They have been big supporters of the Business School historically. It's a relationship we have with the Foster family for years ... starting with the grandfather who was alumni of the Business School."