Zilber Family Foundation donates $20 million to University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee College of Public Health

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The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM) announced on Wednesday the Zilber Family Foundation gifted $20 million to the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health. This is the most one organization has donated to the school in its history, university officials said.

The funding comes in the form of two endowments: the Zilber Faculty Excellence Fund and the Vera Zilber Student Program fund, according to university officials.

The gift will continue to “promote public health, prevent disease and advance health equity” for Milwaukee, Gina Stilp, executive director of the foundation, said in a statement.
“Zilber Family Foundation is honored to continue Joe and Vera Zilber’s legacy with a donation of the largest single gift in the history of the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee – and one of the largest gifts given to a school of public health across the country,” Stilp added. “The $20 million commitment will continue to promote public health, prevent disease and advance health equity in Milwaukee for years to come.”

The Zilber College of Public Health is Wisconsin’s sole accredited school of public health and is one of 56 dedicated school in the United States, university officials said.

The funding helps the university recruit and retain faculty members and accelerate students, UWM Chancellor Mark Mone said in a statement.

“The Zilber Family Foundation’s landmark gift is a vote of confidence in UWM and the college’s future. It reinforces our pillars of faculty experience, top-tier research, student access and achievement. This extraordinary gift significantly enhances our ability to recruit and retain top faculty members while accelerating and supporting the students who will become our nation’s public health leaders,” Mone added.

The investment was a “new phase” in a partnership between the Zilber family and UWM over a shared belief in access to opportunity through education and importance of health equity, Joan Nesbitt, UWM vice chancellor for university advancement, said.

“With this investment, the Zilber Family Foundation is making a bold statement about the power of public-private partnerships to transform communities. The gift’s impact will reach far beyond Milwaukee, and it positions UWM as a leader in philanthropic initiatives that transform lives,” Nesbitt added.

Real estate mogul Joseph J. Zilber and his wife Vera founded the Zilber Family Foundation in 1961, university officials said. In 2007, Zilber donated $10 million to support the development of the UW-Milwaukee Graduate College of Public Health, established in Milwaukee’s Brewery District. The college was accredited within 10 years and has brought “notable economic impact” as the neighborhood became a historic pocket of the city, university officials added.

The donation will take the college to the “next level” as a pipeline between students, alumni and the public health workforce, Amy Harley, interim dean of the Zilber College of Public Health, said in a statement.

“This gift is transformative. A gift of this magnitude will launch us to the next level, especially with increased research output and a broader student and alumni base enhancing the public health workforce. The Zilber College of Public Health’s teaching, scholarship and service will have positive impacts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and beyond,” Harley noted.