A 1970 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa has pledged a $25 million donation to UNI – the largest single gift in the school’s history – and UNI plans to rename its business college in the donor’s honor.
UNI officials announced Friday, Oct. 20 that David W. Wilson has pledged $25 million to the school, and as a result, the school’s business college will be renamed the David W. Wilson College of Business, pending approval by the Iowa Board of Regents. It will be UNI’s first named college.
In a release, UNI officials said the donation will “chart a bold path for the future of the College of Business, fueling strategic initiatives and investing in faculty and students.”
The contribution will also establish the Wilson Endowment for Integrity and Excellence to advance business ethics education “and ensure graduates continue to thrive and lead in a rapidly changing business landscape.”
“This gift to UNI is made in the hope that this money will transform the university; transform the College of Business,” Mr. WIlson said. “I’m hoping this gift will ensure students will learn to do things the right way.”
“This is an historic moment for our campus,” UNI president Mark Nook said. “The Wilson College of Business will truly transform business education at UNI, taking our already premier business programs to new heights. We’re honored that UNI’s first named college will stand as a testament to David’s belief in the power of education and will provide resources for the university to foster innovation for the future.”
Leslie Wilson, dean of the College of Business, said the $25 million donation symbolizes a new chapter for the college.
“Current and future business leaders need to be equipped to confront the complexities of a domestic and global economy,” Ms. Wilson said. “They need the critical thinking skills that allow them to live their values and lead with integrity. The David W. Wilson College of Business will elevate ethics and integrity as a core component of who we are: through our mission, our curriculum and our brand.”
A portion of the gift will also establish the Wilson Scholars Fund, providing renewable scholarships for students from Tama County, which includes Traer – Mr. Wilson’s hometown. Mr. Wilson also worked with the UNI Foundation to structure his contribution as a challenge gift in the hopes of spurring additional support for the university’s “Our Tomorrow” capital campaign.
“It’s exciting to be part of more than 27,000 alumni and friends who have said yes to this campaign,” he said.
This most recent contribution expands on Mr. Wilson previous support that created the Wilson Chair in Business Ethics in 1999. For the past two decades, the faculty position has educated students about ethics and served as a resource on the topic for the community. The Wilson Chair will play an important role in the vision for the Wilson College of Business.
Mr. Wilson rose from his small-town roots and a lower middle class background to become chairman and CEO of Wilson Automotive, one of the country’s largest privately-held auto dealerships.
As the eldest of five children, Mr. Wilson’s first exposure to entrepreneurship came as a paperboy delivering the Des Moines Register and Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in his hometown of Traer. His father was a former rodeo cowboy who worked as a machinist for John Deere, and his mother also worked full-time. Eventually the Wilsons moved to a farm outside of Traer, where Mr. Wilson supported his family in raising horses and performing other chores.
While neither of his parents attended college, it was always expected that Mr. Wilson and his siblings would further their education beyond high school. With his mother arranging to cover the first year of his schooling, Mr. Wilson worked a series of blue collar jobs – lathe operator and night mechanic among them – to finance the remainder of his education at UNI. By his senior year, he was selling cars at a local dealership.
Mr. Wilson graduated from UNI in 1970 with a degree in philosophy and a minor in business, and after his graduation, he and his growing family moved to Arizona. As the family’s Lincoln limped into a Phoenix-area dealership, Mr. Wilson said he made a decision that would change his life.
When he learned the vehicle repairs wouldn’t be covered under warranty, Mr. Wilson persuaded the dealership to make him a salesman so that he could get an employee discount on the service. Within five years, he would own a 25% stake in the business, ultimately leveraging the partnership to launch his own dealerships throughout the southwest United States and parts of Mexico.
Wilson Automotive now comprises 18 automotive dealerships and related companies, employing more than 2,500 people. These corporations total more than $3 billion in annual sales, making Wilson Automotive one of the largest dealership groups in the nation.
Over his career, Mr. Wilson has earned many honors for his business and philanthropic leadership, including his 2005 induction into the Horatio Alger Association, an organization that celebrates “the achievements of outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity.” The group’s members include Ronald Reagan, Maya Angelou, Buzz Aldrin and Clarence Thomas, who would don Mr. Wilson with the medal signifying his membership.
The University of Northern Iowa’s College of Business is recognized as one of the best business schools in the world. It holds accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, an honor reserved for the top 5% of business schools globally. It has also been recognized by the Princeton Review as a “Best Business School” for more than a decade.
UNI’s small faculty-to-student ratio allows for hands-on learning and a focus on personal development, extending to its MBA program, which has locations in Cedar Falls and Shanghai.
Located in Cedar Falls, the University of Northern Iowa has an enrollment of over 9,000 students representing 53 countries, 45 U.S. states and all of Iowa’s 99 counties.
The university emphasizes faculty-led classes, with UNI offering the highest rate of credit hours taught by faculty members among public universities in the state.
