Alfiero Family Donation of $2 Million to Benefit UB School of Management

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Motivated by a desire to give back to the community where he founded and grew his business enterprises and raised his family, Sal H. Alfiero has made a generous gift to the University at Buffalo School of Management.

The $2 million gift from his Alfiero Family Foundation will be used for construction of a new structure to house programs of the School of Management to be built adjacent to and connected with the Jacobs Management Center on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

To be named for the Alfiero family, the new student-focused structure will contain facilities supporting the academic, career and professional-development activities of students within the School of Management.

UB President William R. Greiner and School of Management Dean Lewis Mandell announced the gift today with Alfiero and his wife, Jeanne, at a news conference held in the School of Management.

"Having built his own business into a multi-billion-dollar success, Sal Alfiero knows the economic impact of UB's ability to draw the world's best and brightest minds to Western New York," Greiner noted. "Thanks to his outstanding support, our nationally recognized School of Management will have the means to continue to develop as one of the top programs in the country.

"The Alfieros," he added, "have been leaders in the Western New York community for many years; this multi-million-dollar gift to the University at Buffalo demonstrates the depth of their continuing commitment to UB and to the economic advancement of our entire region -- and we are grateful for both their generosity and their vision."

Jeremy M. Jacobs, Sr., honorary co-chair of the Campaign for UB and chair of the University Council, expressed deep gratitude to the Alfieros for the $2 million gift.

"Just as they have been leaders in our community for so many years, Sal and Jeanne have stepped up to be significant leaders in the Campaign for UB. This very generous gift is an indication of their confidence in and commitment to the very bright future of UB, and especially our School of Management.

"We are pleased to announce," Jacobs added, "that with the Alfieros' gift, the Campaign for UB now has surpassed the $155 million mark toward its $250 million goal. With two years to go, we are well on our way to success."

One of Western New York's most successful and prominent business executives, Alfiero is former chairman and CEO of Mark IV Industries, which he founded in 1969 and built into a leading global manufacturer of engineered systems and auto components. Having recently sold the Amherst-based company, Alfiero now is chairman and CEO of Protective Industries LLC of Buffalo.

"This is the community where I started my business and where I have benefited from the tremendous support of many people," Alfiero said. "This gift is simply my family's way of acknowledging and thanking Western New York for its years of support; it's our way of giving back some of the goodwill we've enjoyed and experienced."

"I think UB is a tremendous asset for our community and for the entire state, as reflected by the national prominence achieved by the School of Management and the university's other professional schools," he added. "I hope this gift will demonstrate to other people that we have some excellent institutions here that deserve our support, not just monetarily, but also in terms of time and effort."

The gift to UB is the latest example of the Alfiero family's history of philanthropic and community contributions to Western New York. The Alfieros have given generously to the Children's Hospital of Buffalo, and Sal Alfiero is a trustee of the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc. He also serves on the boards of UB's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Buffalo Police Foundation and Kaleida Health.

Groundbreaking for the building is expected to begin in 2002. Additional funding for the $6.5 million project has been secured from the State University of New York and from gifts from alumni and friends of the School of Management.

The facility will feature a dramatic glass atrium, which will serve as an entranceway to a student center with an Internet café, three high-tech classrooms, academic and career-advisement suites, an entrepreneurship suite and dedicated space for student clubs, meetings and group projects. Wireless computer technologies will be integrated throughout the building, giving management students around-the-clock access to business research and market data.

"Our intention from the start was to design a building that places the goals and dreams of our students at its very heart," said Mandell. "With the Alfiero family's generous support, the School of Management soon will have an elegant, corporate-like facility that is reflective of our status as one of the world's top business schools and that will be a wonderful source of inspiration to our students and alumni alike."

Mandell added that the building's atrium will feature a mosaic "recognition wall" honoring the contributions of the Alfieros and others who have given to the project.

In addition to his community activities, Alfiero sits on the boards of HSBC, USA; Phoenix Home Life Mutual Insurance Co.; Southwire Co., and Niagara Mohawk Holdings.

The Alfieros are residents of Amherst.

UB's $250 million campaign is one of the largest ever conducted by a public university in New York and New England. Although it's the fifth major fund-raising campaign conducted by UB, it's the first national/international campaign, the first university-wide campaign and the first to be alumni-driven, with campaign volunteer leaders from all over the country. Funds raised will be used to enrich academic programs, support students ranging from undergraduates to post-doctoral students and to enhance university life.

Recently ranked by The Wall Street Journal as one of the world's "top business schools," the UB School of Management annually enrolls some 3,000 students in undergraduate, graduate and doctoral business programs. In addition, it offers professional-development and corporate-training programs to more than 5,000 business people each year.