Fisher Gives $20 Million to Business MAX FISHER GIVES $20 MILLION TO BUSINESS COLLEGE COLUMBUS - Noted philanthropist Max M. Fisher, a 1930 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Business, today gave $20 million to the university's business college. Fisher's commitment is the largest gift ever received for an Ohio State academic unit and the second largest in the university's history. In recognition of this outstanding commitment, Ohio State's business college will be designated the Max M. Fisher College of Business. An advisor to the past four Republican U.S. presidents and a leader of the Jewish community, the 85-year-old Detroit resident built a fortune from an independent oil business and successful investments in real estate and stocks. While Fisher's past philanthropic endeavors have centered primarily on Jewish causes and the Republican party, his gift to Ohio State is intended to move the university's business college into the ranks of the nationa'as elite management schools. "I have been fortunate throughout my life to assist with many noble causes," Fisher said. "Ohio State and its College of Business, under the leadership of President E. Gordon Gee and Dean Joseph A. Alutto respectively, have demonstrated a strong commitment to fostering an understanding of the global context in which all business occurs. Rather than being a personal legacy, my gift is an affirmation of a shared vision with Dean Alutto and President Gee concerning the future of management education. I firmly believe that Ohio State's Max M. Fisher College of Business will soon become one of the very best business colleges in the world." President Gee noted the far-reaching effects of such a gift on the university's stature. "The relevance of Mr. Fisher's gift can be measured by its immediate impact on the college," Gee said. "Under Dean Alutto's leadership, we have made remarkable progress in moving from a proud heritage as a large undergraduate business program toward an internationally recognized graduate school for management education united with a selective, high-quality undergraduate program in business. Mr. Fisher's commitment will allow us to make that transition even more rapidly. "Ohio State is proud to excel in many different disciplines. A nationally recognized business school will greatly strengthen this university's claim to true international distinction." Dean Alutto reiterated Fisher's faith in the college. "This historic commitment from Mr. Fisher is the most important step in our aggressive efforts to remake the business college for the next century," Alutto said. "A gift of this magnitude will enable us to move even more rapidly towards our vision of true international distinction in management education. Most important to us, though, is the association of Mr. Fisher's name with the college. It will symbolize for generations to come the excellence, dedication and creativity expected of graduates from our college."One of the cornerstones of the college's transformation is a new $67 million, multi-building business complex planned for the northern edge of Ohio State's Columbus campus. Groundbreaking on the complex is scheduled for Fall 1994. The facilities will replace 70-year-old Hagerty Hall, in which the college now resides. As part of Fisher's gift, the main administration building in the new business complex will also be named in his honor. Ohio State's business college, which was founded in 1916, currently enrolls more than 600 graduate students and 2,800 undergraduates. The college has 108 faculty members and more than 120 full and part-time staff. Max M. Fisher Personal Biography Max M. Fisher, was born July 15, 1908, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The son of immigrant Russian parents, Fisher grew up in the small town of Salem, Ohio, on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. Fisher was a high school football star at Salem High School, and he earned a football scholarship to The Ohio State University. To earn his room and board at OSU, Fisher hauled ice and worked at Richman Brothers clothing store in Cleveland. His family had moved from Salem to Cleveland and later to Detroit while Fisher was at OSU. After graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio State in 1930, Fisher moved to Detroit to join his family. His father had established Keystone Oil, a small oil reclamation plant on the west side of Detroit, where used lubricating oil was cleaned and reclaimed then sold back to industrial customers. Fisher joined the company as a $15-a-week salesman. Fisher saw the potential for Keystone to refine and sell a range of products, and when his father turned down his plan to build a refinery, Fisher approached two Detroit businessmen who owned Aurora Gasoline and persuaded them to form a joint venture with Keystone to build an independent refinery. Using Aurora's $38,000 in cash and Keystone's large tract of land, a joint venture was formed. In return for bringing this deal to Keystone, Fisher's father gave him 50% of Keystone's stock. Fisher served as chairman of Aurora Gasoline from 1932 until 1959 when Aurora was merged with Marathon Oil. Aurora was one of the largest independent oil companies in the Midwest, with 680 Speedway 79 gas stations. That Aurora was successful even during World War II when supplies of crude oil were tight was largely due to Max Fisher's business savvy. After Aurora was sold, Fisher turned his attention to his hobby of real estate He has participated in enormously profitable real estate deals such as Detroit's Fisher building (named for the auto body Fishers, not Max Fisher), Somerset Apartments in Troy, Michigan, and Irvine Ranch in southern California, believed to be the costliest real estate transaction in U.S. history when it was purchased in 1977. Fisher's highest priorities, however, have been revitalizing the Detroit area and in fundraising for causes he believes in. Currently, Fisher serves on the Board of Directors for Comerica Incorporated in Detroit and Sotheby's in London. He has been involved in many civic activities, and has been awarded 11 honorary degrees from notable academic institutions including The Ohio State University, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Yeshiva University. In addition, Fisher's numerous awards include the Presidential Citizen Award, presented by Ronald Reagan; The Ohio State University Centennial Award; The Business Statesman Award from Harvard Business School; the Renaissance Spirit Award from Metropolitan Detroit Convention and Visitor's Bureau; the William Booth Award from the Salvation Army; Distinguished Citizen Award from Wayne State University; and the Ben-Gurion Centennial Medal from the State of Israel Bonds. His expertise on middle Eastern affairs and Jewish issues has made Fisher a key advisor of the past four Republican Presidents. He has served on President Reagan's Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives, President Nixon's National Center for Voluntary Action, and President Bush's Export Council. Max Fisher has been married to Marjorie Switow Fisher since 1953, and he has five children. [Submitted by: GERSTNER (gerstner@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu) Mon, 15 Nov 93 14:34:10 EST] All documents are the responsibility of their originator.