Simon Gives $100,000 to UB School of Management to Fund Instructional Technologies

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- David F. Simon, an alumnus of the University at Buffalo School of Management, has given $100,000 to the school to fund the purchase and development of instructional technologies.

A 1974 honors graduate of the school, Simon made the gift in recognition of the positive influence of his parents, Maurice and Susan Simon, and in appreciation of the school's role in his career success.

"The School of Management provided me with terrific training for my career," says Simon, "and I feel it's incumbent on all alumni who feel similarly to give back to the school, to the extent they are able to do so.

"Technology has been an interest of mine since an early age and I've seen firsthand how important technology is in business," adds Simon, who as an undergraduate served as assistant chief engineer for UB's National Public Radio station, WBFO 88.7 FM, and as business manager for the student newspaper, The Spectrum. "I feel there's a real need for students to be able to use technology during their studies because they get a good head start if they learn how to operate in the mode that the business world operates in."

According to Lewis Mandell, dean of the School of Management, Simon's gift will be used for acquisition and maintenance of equipment and software in the school's computer lab and for purchase of interactive classroom technologies.

Raised in Brooklyn, Simon graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. After earning his UB degree, he graduated with honors from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He then began a successful career, which has included tenures with a prestigious Philadelphia law firm, as senior vice president for U.S. Healthcare and as chief legal officer for Aetna U.S. Healthcare, the nation's largest health insurer.

Simon currently is a private consultant and investor residing in Gwynedd Valley, Pa., with his wife, Deborah, and their four children. He is a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the School of Management.

For information on how you can support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving.