Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. and Kathleen Marie (Horgan) Siegfried, along with The Siegfried Group, LLP, committed $71.5 million to University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics, the largest in university history.
University of Delaware’s Lerner College of Business and Economics today (March 17) announced an historic $71.5 million gift to transform business education at the school. Not only is the gift the largest in UD’s 282-year history, it stands among the largest philanthropic gifts to any business school.
The commitment comes from Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. and Kathleen Marie (Horgan) Siegfried – both university alumni – along with The Siegfried Group, LLP.
“This is a transformative moment for the University of Delaware and our Lerner College of Business and Economics,” says Dennis Assanis, university president. “The Siegfrieds’ generosity will significantly advance Lerner’s mission of preparing the next generation of leaders, change-makers, and entrepreneurs.”
A NEW HUB FOR BUSINESS EDUCATION
Lerner jumped up 13 places this year to No. 52 in Poets&Quants’ annual ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business programs in the U.S. It also jumped five spots to No. 41 to our 2025 ranking of the Best Online MBA Programs in the U.S. The college offers 18 undergraduate majors, 18 minors, 10 master’s programs, and four doctoral programs. It holds AACSB accreditation at both the institutional and accounting levels.
At the heart of the Siegfrieds’ gift is the creation of Siegfried Hall, a state-of-the-art facility with modern classrooms, research and teaching labs, a student-run café, and an auditorium.
Siegfried Hall will house the Student Success and Excellence Center, which will provide advising and career services to support students’ personal and professional growth. It will also include immersive, experiential learning spaces equipped with instructional computing labs, public computing areas, and generative AI technology to facilitate hands-on learning.
The building will feature interactive meeting spaces that integrate technology to support team projects, interdisciplinary research, case study competitions, club activities, entrepreneurial initiatives, and remote job interviews.
Finally, the building will house the newly established Siegfried Institute for Leadership and Free Enterprise, an idea lab dedicated to fostering leadership development and exploring principles of limited government, rule of law, and free enterprise.
“These basic principles are pivotal to free enterprise and align with the foundational values of the United States,” the couple says in a statement. “The institute will seek to leverage these principles and values to enrich the lives of individuals, their families, and their communities, as well as benefit our national interest.”
Design of Siegfried Hall will begin this spring, and the university hopes to break ground within the next four years.
“Our vision for the college is to shape and serve the future of business and society by driving impact through an ecosystem of pioneering scholarship and inspirational education, all within an inclusive environment. The new Siegfried Hall will put us on the fast track to achieving our vision,” says Lerner College Dean Oliver Yao.
A LEGACY OF PHILANTHROPY
Rob and Kathy Siegfried graduated from the University of Delaware in 1981 and 1985, respectively. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Lerner in both economics and accounting She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the College of Arts and Sciences with a major in criminal justice. They gave their first gift to the University of Delaware in 1985. The amount? $25.
Over the years, their contributions have grown to more than $6 million to Lerner College, Horn Entrepreneurship and the Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship. They have funded initiatives such as the Siegfried Youth Leadership Initiative for high school students and the Siegfried Fellows program, an immersive leadership experience for undergraduates. Their latest donation will also serve as matching funds for future Siegfried Hall contributions, encouraging others to invest in the college’s future.
“My time at UD – my incredible professors, the many unique experiences inside and outside the classroom, my vibrant network of friends and colleagues – helped to make me who I am today,” Rob Siegfried says. “To be able to share our success with the business students of tomorrow is an incredible honor. Kathy and I, and our firm, are thrilled to invest in the world-class students, faculty, staff and campus of the Lerner College and the University of Delaware.”
Rob Siegfried spent seven years at Ernst & Young before starting his own CPA firm. His wife handled everything from marketing to HR. What started as a small operation in Wilmington, Delaware, grew into The Siegfried Group, LLP. Today, the firm has about 1,300 employees and 18 offices nationwide, helping big and fast-moving companies with leadership advisory and talent delivery.
Rob serves on the Lerner College Advisory Board and is co-founder of the Siegfried Youth Leadership Program. Rob is also a member of the UD President’s Leadership Council, and he is a former chair of the Lerner College Advisory Board.
BIG MONEY GIFTS TO B-SCHOOLS
Particularly in the last two and half decades, notable alumni have increasingly made transformative big-dollar gifts to their alma maters. David Booth’s $300 million gift to Chicago’s Booth School of Business in 2008 remains the largest ever, followed by $250 million Stephen Ross made to Michigan’s Ross School of Business over several years.
The Siegfrieds’ commitment is now among the biggest gifts at any business school, securing its place on an exclusive but growing list of business school gifts of at least $50 million.
Largest Philanthropic Gifts To Business Schools |
|||
School |
Amount |
Donor |
Year |
| Chicago’s Booth School of Business | $300 million | David Booth | 2008 |
| Michigan’s Ross School of Business | $250 million | Stephen Ross |
2004, 2013, 2017
|
| University of Hawai’i-Mānoa Shidler College of Business | $228 million | Jay H. Shidler | 2014, 2017 |
| University of Illinois’s Gies College of Business | $150 million | Larry Gies | 2017 |
| Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business | $150 million | H. Fisk Johnson | 2017 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | $150 million | Robert & Dorothy King | 2011 |
| UCLA Anderson School of Management | $142 million | John & Marion Anderson |
1987, 2011, 2015
|
| Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business | $122 million | David Tepper | 2004, 2013 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | $105 million | Philip Knight | 2006 |
| Yale School of Management | $100 million | Eli & Edythe Broad | 2019 |
| UC-San Diego Rady School of Management | $100 million | Ernest Rady | 2015 |
| Florida State College of Business | $100 million | Jim Moran | 2015 |
| Columbia Business School | $100 million | Ronald Perelman | 2013 |
| Columbia Business School | $100 million | Henry Kravis | 2010 |
| Emory University’s Goizueta Business School | $95 million | The Goizueta Foundation | 1997-2019 |
| New York University Stern School of Business | $86 million | Leonard Stern |
1988, 2015, 2021
|
| Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School | $80 million | David Atkinson | 2010 |
| Arizona State’s Carey School of Business | $75 million | William Carey | 2003, 2019 |
| Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business | $75 million | William Carey | 2006, 2020 |
| Chicago Booth | $75 million | Amy & Richard Wallman | 2017 |
| Florida’s Warrington College of Business | $75 million | Al & Judy Warrington | 2014 |
| Delaware’s Lerner College of Business | $71.5 million | Robert & Kathleen Siegfried | 2025 |
| Virginia’s Darden School of Business | $68 million | Frank & Marjorie Sands | 2019 |
| Virginia’s Darden School of Business | $62 million | Frank Batten | 1999 |
| Northeastern’s D’Amore-McKim School | $60 million | Richard D’Amore & Alan McKim | 2012 |
| Thunderbird School of Management | $60 million | Sam & Rita Garvin | 2004 |
| Babson College | $50 million | Arthur Blank | 2019 |
| Purdue’s Daniels School of Business | $50 million | Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation | 2023 |
| Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business | $50 million | David & Carolyn Miller | 2019 |
| University of San Diego Knauss School of Business | $50 million | Ellie & Don Knauss | 2021 |
| Tel Aviv Coller School of Management | $50 million | Jeremy Coller | 2016 |
| Boston University’s Questrom School | $50 million | Allen & Kelli Questrom | 2015 |
| New York University Stern School of Business | $50 million | William & Marjorie Berkley | 2021 |
| University of Pennsylvania Wharton School | $50 million | Marc & Carolyn Rowan | 2018 |
| Tennessee’s Haslam College of Business | $50 million | Jim Haslam & family | 2014 |
| Georgia Tech’s Scheller College | $50 million | Ernest Scheller | 2012 |
| Harvard Business School | $50 million | Tata Group | 2010 |
| Yale School of Management | $50 million | Ned Evans | 2010 |
| Texas’ McCombs School of Business | $50 million | Red McCombs | 2000 |
| Arkansas’ Walton College of Business | $50 million | The Walton Family | 1998 |
| Iowa State University Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business | $50 million | Debbie & Jerry Ivy | 2017 |
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