Shidler gives $69M more to UH

Hawaii real estate tycoon Jay Shidler has increased fourfold his gift to the University of Hawaii to $100 million, the largest contribution by a single donor to any UH institution.

Shidler, a 1968 graduate of the UH business school, now known as the Shidler College of Business, initially gave the institution $25 million, then another $6 million to support its operations.

On Friday, university officials announced the prominent businessman has committed to adding another $69 million to the endowment that supports the Shidler College of Business, named after him in 2006 following his original gift.

"I’m proud of what the college has been able to achieve over the past eight years in elevating its programs and securing its place among the top-ranked business schools," Shidler said in a statement. "I know firsthand the impact the college has on emerging business men and women, and I am committed to do what I can so that Hawaii continues to have a strong business school that will allow future generations of leaders to excel."

In addition to cash and stocks and bonds, Shidler has begun transferring to the UH Foundation interests in income generated by land underlying several downtown office buildings in Denver; Chicago; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; and Nashville, Tenn.

Shidler also owns the leased fees under office buildings in Midtown Manhattan and other U.S. cities, which could also become part of the gift, UH said.

As founder of Hono­­lulu-based Shidler Group, he has acquired and owned more than 2,000 commercial properties in 40 states and Canada over the past 40 years. He also founded more than 20 public and private companies, five of which have been listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The UH Foundation, where Shidler served as a board member in the 1990s, anticipates that over time it will receive a portion of the ownership interests in other leased fees and will benefit from escalating ground rent payments over a period as long as 99 years.

Similar to Kame­ha­meha Schools, which generates substantial income from leased fees under homes and commercial buildings, the college said it will now have an ongoing source of cash to meet its long-term financial needs.

The gift will enable the business school to attract high-caliber students and faculty, as well as improve graduate and undergraduate business programs, said Vance Roley, dean of the Shidler College of Business, adding that the money will also be used to create additional scholarships and endowments.

UH President David Lassner added, "This latest gift will benefit Hawaii residents and businesses for generations. It will have a lasting impact on the Shidler College of Business, the University of Hawaii and the state of Hawaii."

Shidler did his first commercial real estate deal while a student at UH. Shidler is the son of an Army officer and lived in Hawaii in 1949. He came back to attend UH after graduating from high school in Maryland.

He has said the experience of going to school in the post-statehood years when Hawaii’s economy was taking off presented a seemingly endless spectrum of possibilities, something that shaped his outlook in business.

While at UH, he worked afternoons for real estate appraiser Philip Won and came across a Makiki property he believed could be developed. He helped in the development and received a cut of the property when it was built as the 1111 Wilder condominium on the slope of Punchbowl.