DATE: December 31, 2007

The Puget Sound Business Journal has named Jim Jiambalvo, dean of the University of Washington's Michael G. Foster School of Business, and The Foster Foundation, benefactor of $50 million in philanthropy to the newly named Foster School, two of its "Newsmakers of 2007."

In the listing, published in the December 21-27 issue of the PSBJ, Jiambalvo is named in the category of "fighters," defined by the weekly newspaper as: "Leaders locked in struggles where the outcome isn’t yet known."

Jiambalvo was honored for his response to unexpectedly inflated construction estimates for the Foster School's new facilities. Rather than scale back plans on the complex of three new state-of-the-art buildings, he convinced the UW Board of Regents that the School could raise an additional $15 million to cover the increase.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2008 and be completed in 2012. The new Foster School campus will include more than 180,000 additional square feet of classrooms, auditoriums, breakout rooms, offices, an outdoor terrace and a soaring gallery. The facilities are being designed by Seattle-based LMN Architects, known for their award-winning designs of both public and private buildings, including Benaroya Hall. Building systems are being selected to qualify for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certificate, or better.

"Dean Jim Jiambalvo was forced to consider some tough choices: cut a slew of amenities, or raise more money,” reads the PSBJ article. “Knowing how desperately his school needed the new facility… Jiambalvo decided to fight."

In the same edition, the newspaper lists The Foster Foundation under the category of "givers," defined as: "“Generous donors of time, attention or money."

"As two of Seattle’s most prolific investors, Albert O. Foster and Michael G. Foster’s careers are part of Seattle's business lore," reads the PSBJ article. "But the late father and son’s most lasting mark was made in September when their family foundation pledged to give the University of Washington's business school $36.5 million. The Foster Foundation has now given the school $50 million and is the largest donor behind the school’s fund-raising campaign that has reached $155 million."

The Foster Foundation was created in 1984 by Albert O. Foster (BA 1928) and his son, Michael G. Foster. A.O. Foster founded Foster & Marshall, Seattle’s first locally-owned brokerage to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

To honor the philanthropy of The Foster Foundation and the life of Michael G. Foster, the UW Board of Regents renamed the UW Business School the "Michael G. Foster School of Business" on Sept. 20, 2007.