Debbie and Jerry Ivy
Iowa State University officials announced Monday that the ISU College of Business will be renamed after a couple who’ve pledged to make the largest-ever donation to the college.
Interim ISU president Ben Allen is a former dean of the business school. “Jerry and Debbie Ivy are the reason we’re here today,” Allen said at a event on the Ames campus. “It’s because of their extraordinary generosity that we are announcing a 50-million dollar commitment to name the College of Business.”
Jerry Ivy, a 1953 graduate of ISU, is president and chief executive officer of Auto-Chlor System, a national brand that provides cleaning solutions to the food service, healthcare and lodging industries.
David Spalding, the current dean of the ISU College of Business, thanked the Ivys for their donation. “Debbie and Jerry understand the value of a perpetual endowment that’s going to be available to fund new programs and activities at this college for generations,” Spalding said.
The Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business would be the first donor-named college at ISU, once its approved by the Iowa Board of Regents. “With this gift, we’re hoping this will enable not only the staff and the university, but the students – all the way through – to be able to reach out and keep expanding your goals, your dreams, and possibilities,” Debbie Ivy said.
The ISU College of Business has a record enrollment this fall of 4,921 students. The Ivys live in California.