Huntsman gives USU business school $26 million

LOGAN — Utah State University hopes to become more competitive after accepting its largest-ever donation of $26 million from Jon M. Huntsman Sr., also naming the school of business after the successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business will focus on building ethical leadership and entrepreneurship among its faculty and student enrollment, enhancing their global vision and developing financial and quantitative analysis programs, a prominent focus for Huntsman, said Douglas Anderson, dean of USU's business school.

"The Huntsman money is not intended for bricks and mortar," he said, noting that the George S. Eccles Business Building — housed within the Huntsman School of Business — is slated for summer renovation.

The announcement was made Monday afternoon to more than 500 of Huntsman's friends and family, including leaders in higher education as well as lawmakers and government officials, gathered at the Taggart Student Center at USU. President Boyd K. Packer, a general authority in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and USU alumnus, encouraged those who distribute the generous donation to remember the students.

"Cause it to be aimed at the student, the ever-valuable student," he said. "Its influence is best measured in the lives of those who come here to study."

One million dollars of the donation will be set aside to provide scholarships to students in order to "attract the best in the region," Anderson said. The gift comes at the heels of more than $300 million the Huntsman family has already invested in education.

Huntsman previously funded USU's Huntsman Environmental Research Center and the David B. Haight Alumni Center. Earlier this year, he contributed $850,000 to fund 13 four-year scholarships for students from Armenia to attend USU. He has long had ties to Armenia, areas of which were devastated by an earthquake in 1988.

"This gift has given the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business an opportunity to achieve its own distinct place among the finest schools in the country," said USU President Stan Albrecht. The Logan school plans to foster a partnership with the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Huntsman's alma mater as well as the recipient of a $40 million gift from Huntsman in 1997, used to build the international studies program there.

Former Wharton Dean Thomas P. Garrity said USU now has the great privilege of not only garnering the Huntsman name, but the values of a man who is "known for his vision, integrity and humanity."