The Ilitches Donate $40 Million For New Biz School At Wayne State
DETROIT -- Wayne State University is receiving a $40 million gift from Mike and Marian Ilitch to build a new, state-of-the-art business school facility in Detroit. The gift, pending Board of Governors approval Friday, is the largest in the history of the university and ranks as one of the top ten gifts ever to a public business school in the United States.
The school will be named the Mike Ilitch School of Business. The new building will be located on the southwest corner of Woodward Avenue and Temple Street, extending the footprint of Wayne State's campus south into The District Detroit.
"Marian and I have experienced in our own lives how entrepreneurship creates opportunity, builds community and drives philanthropy," said Mike Ilitch. "We're thrilled to work with Wayne State to bring those same values to the next generation of Detroit entrepreneurs in a new state-of-the art business school."
"Business education at Wayne State will be transformed through the generosity of Mike and Marian Ilitch," said Wayne State University President M. Roy Wilson. "Students will have unmatched access to the companies and industries evolving in Detroit, along with internships, networking and employment opportunities, all while contributing to the city's renewal."
The school, which will serve more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, will provide new flexible teaching, research, office and community spaces for students and faculty bringing WSU's outstanding business programs closer to the market. To date, the Wayne State University School of Business has more than 31,000 alumni, many of whom are top-level executives in metro Detroit and across the globe for brands like Carhartt, Aetna, Cadillac and Lear.
