No. 21 (tied): Ernest Scheller Jr. and Roberta Scheller
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
February 10, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2012: $50-million
Beneficiary: Georgia Institute of Technology
Background: Mr. Scheller is chairman emeritus of Silberline Manufacturing.
Ernest Scheller, 83, and Roberta Scheller pledged $50-million to the Georgia Institute of Technology for its business school, which has been named the Ernest Scheller Jr. College of Business.
The Schellers have directed $45-million of that money to endow the business school, of which $20-million will be used to endow a dollar-for-dollar challenge fund created to attract gifts from other donors to establish 39 undergraduate scholarships, 14 study-abroad scholarships, 12 graduate fellowships, 10 professorships, and other programs.
The donors said the dean of the business school, Steve Salbu, may use the remaining $5-million for the school’s top priorities.
Mr. Scheller graduated from Georgia Tech in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management and serves on the business school’s Business Advisory Board.
The couple paid $40-million toward the current pledge in 2012 and plan to pay the remainder in 2013.
