By Baylee Pulliam–
University of Louisville graduate and longtime benefactor Owsley Brown Frazier has donated $25 million to the university – the largest donation U of L has ever received by a single person.
The gift, formalized Dec. 19 with a ceremonial check-signing in Grawmeyer Hall, also might be the largest sum ever donated outright to any Kentucky institute of higher education. The money will go toward the university’s academic, research and athletic pursuits, according to a release.
Frazier said he has seen how the university’s “academic and research mission has flourished under President Jim Ramsey. I hope my gift will further that mission and spur others to do the same.”
To date, Frazier and his daughters have donated more than $40 million to U of L. (Aerial map of Frazier contributions to U of L here.)
In September, administration renamed the College of Business Harry Frazier Hall, both to honor Owsley Brown Frazier’s late brother and to reflect the significant financial support the Frazier family has given the university.
In a letter, President James Ramsey thanked the Frazier family for their contributions, which he said have brought the university closer to “realizing our collective goal of creating a lasting, positive impact on Louisville, the Commonwealth, the region — and indeed, the world.”
This latest gift brings U of L’s total for funds raised in the $1 billion-dollar “Charting Our Course” capital campaign to $582 million, according to a release. Frazier co-chairs the campaign.
Ramsey said thanks to the gift and the “present and future involvement of the entire Frazier family,” he hopes the University will soon reach that goal.
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Photo courtesy University of Louisville Office of Communications and Marketing
