A $15 million gift announced Tuesday is the biggest donation in the history of Georgia State University’s business school.
The Starr Foundation is giving the money to the J. Mack Robinson College of Business to create an honors scholarship program, develop a cross-disciplinary program for students outside the business school to learn about the insurance industry and renovate space within a business school building.
The honors scholarship program will aim to recruit students from across the country who want to study risk management, insurance or actuarial science, the university said in a news release.
“We are deeply grateful to The Starr Foundation for investing in one of the university’s top-performing and most prestigious departments,” said university President M. Brian Blake, in a written statement. “This gift ensures our risk management and insurance programs will continue to produce incredible graduates and outstanding research, all while honoring a legendary insurance executive.”
To recognize the donation, Georgia State plans to rename its Department of Risk Management and Insurance after Maurice R. Greenberg, who is the chairman and CEO of Starr Insurance Co. and the foundation’s chairman. The Georgia Board of Regents must approve the new name, which is proposed to be the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Science.
Greenberg formed American International Group, Inc. (AIG) from several of the Starr insurance companies. He served as chairman and CEO of AIG until 2005.
“The commercial insurance industry – a driving force of the global economy – must be committed to attracting and nurturing the best and brightest young leaders. Helping Georgia State continue to build one of the nation’s best insurance programs will ensure that happens,” said Greenberg, in a written statement.
The gift is among several high-profile, targeted donations to Georgia State in recent years, including $5 million in 2021 to train Black and Hispanic students for computer science teaching careers.
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