UPDATED: April 17, 2018 at 8:34 p.m.

Martin J. Whitman, the major Syracuse University donor whom SU named its business school for, died Monday night, the university announced Tuesday afternoon. He was 93.

Eugene Anderson, the current dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, in an email to Whitman students at about 2 p.m. Tuesday said he extended his condolences to the family, who visited campus earlier this month for the university’s annual “Whitman Day.” A cause of death was not included in Anderson’s email.

Whitman, a 1949 SU graduate, was an Honorary Trustee of the university at the time of his death. He was first elected to the Board of Trustees in 2003, the same year SU dedicated its business school in his name. He was the founder and co-chief investment officer of Third Avenue Management in New York City, a private investment firm with millions of dollars in assets.

Carl MacEwen, a junior finance major who was in the business school’s atrium Tuesday afternoon, said he heard Whitman give a speech when he visited SU near the beginning of April.

“He seemed upbeat, really lively,” MacEwen said. “So it was just shocking to really hear about it.”

A handful of students in the business school Tuesday afternoon said they didn’t have a personal connection to Whitman. But some said he meant a lot to the SU community, even if they hadn’t met him.

Ben Houle, a sophomore supply chain management major, said Whitman was still involved in the business school at his time of death.

“His passing definitely leaves a mark on the university,” Houle said.

SU’s business school was dedicated in Whitman’s name after he and his wife, Lois, made a donation to the university. The school was originally named the College of Business Administration. With the donation, SU built a new 160,000-square-foot building where the school is currently located at the intersection of Marshall Street and University Avenue.

Whitman supported several initiatives at SU, including the Our Time Has Come Scholarship, the Martin and Lois Whitman Endowed Fund, the Martin J. Whitman Endowed Fund, the Martin J. Whitman Undergraduate Scholarship Fund and the Annual Fund.

Steve Barnes, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, said in the Tuesday email that Whitman’s achievements helped “pave the way for countless students to follow his example as they launch their own careers in the world of business.” Barnes is a 1982 graduate of the business school and an executive at Bain Capital, a private equity firm.

Published on April 17, 2018 at 2:34 pm

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