Newmont Mining president Pierre Lassonde is donating $13.25 million to his alma mater, the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.
The gift will create the largest entrepreneur center in the United States and represents one of the biggest donations ever made to the University of Utah by an individual donor, the school said.
The Lassonde donation creates the newly named Pierre Lassonde Entrepreneur Center, consisting of existing university programs including the Pierre & Claudette MacKay Lassonde New Venture Development Center, which Lassonde endowed in 2000.
Lassonde has been connected with the University of Utah for more than three decades since he received a master’s in business administration in 1973 from the Eccles business school. In May 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in business from the university.
“The entrepreneur center is meant to tap the rich veins of discoveries of the University of Utah science departments and pass them through the crucible of analysis to create new businesses,” Lassonde said in a statement. “Our process allows the graduate students to grow along with the success of their business ventures.”
Staff writer Steve Raabe can be reached at 303-820-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com.
