The University of Akron Board of Trustees met this week and decided to name the Student Union in honor of Jean Hower Taber.

The estate of Jean Hower Taber has gifted UA $20 million. Taber passed away in 2017 and hails from the same family who founded the Quaker Oats Company and donated the Hower House to the University. President Wilson said the naming of the Union to honor Taber to acknowledge the University’s gratitude to the family.

Kim Cole, vice president of development, said the University has seen an increase of 57 percent in donations for the first half of the fiscal year, which is from July to December. The University has received over $16.2 million. Taber’s gift is not included in this figure. This includes 47 percent of the donors were new donors to UA.

Nathan Mortimer, the vice president for finance and administration and the chief financial officer of UA, reported that UA will only need to draw $20 million from reserves to balance the budget. This is in lieu of $29 million that would have been needed to cover the budget deficit.  

In addition to the above, the Board approved a professional social media certificate and revisions in the Financial Services degree as well as the degree name to Risk Management and Insurance.

A full report of the Board’s meeting can be found here. Included is the schedule of meetings for the upcoming year.