Board of Visitors member William H. Goodwin Jr. and his wife, Alice T. Goodwin, have pledged $13.3 million to the Darden Graduate School of Business, University officials announced yesterday. Their gift is the largest single donation in the school's history.
"Life's been pretty good to my family and myself and we just wanted to return the favor," said Goodwin, a 1966 Darden alumnus.
Although the Goodwins have made anonymous donations in recent years, this is their first public gift. Their contributions total over $25 million, making them some of the most generous donors in the University's history.
Goodwin said the decision to make the donation public was "very tenuous," and he "thought long and hard about it."
"Bill is the finest of philanthropists because he gives to help meet the needs of institutions he cares about and is not looking for personal attention for his philanthropy," said Steve Oliveira, Darden vice president for development.
The gift is unrestricted, and "will help with the overall set of programs at Darden," Darden School Dean Edward A. Snyder said. "It will help us move forward with the efforts to have and maintain the best business school facilities in the world."
Goodwin is the president of CCA Industries of Richmond and has been a Board member since 1996.
During the renovation of the Darden Grounds in the winter of 1995 and 1996, "Mr. Goodwin was the driving force and visionary," Snyder said. The Darden School originally occupied buildings that are now part of the Law School. As chairman of the Darden Foundation's Board of Trustees, Goodwin played a large role in the decision to build the Jeffersonian state-of-the-art facilities, instead of merely restoring the old ones.
"The Grounds are a huge competitive advantage for us," Snyder said.
University President John T. Casteen III said in a statement that Goodwin is "a moving force in Darden's evolution. He has seized opportunities for greatness and has helped the school realize innovative changes. We are deeply grateful for what he has meant to Darden and to the University."
Vice President for Development Robert D. Sweeney said, "through Bill Goodwin's vision and through his philanthropy, Darden is positioned to be one of the leading business schools in the world in the 21st century."
Goodwin graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1962. He served on the Darden Board of Trustees from 1986 to 1995.
The second largest contributors to the Darden School are Frank Batten and George David who gave $10 million in 1995 and 1999, respectively. The largest gift in the University's history is the Clifton Waller Barrett Collection in Alderman library, which is valued at $30 million.
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