U.Va. alumni make $5M gift to fund professorship

University of Virginia alumni Donna and Richard Tadler made a gift of $5 million that will be used to create a professorship of entrepreneurship at their alma mater, U.Va. President Jim Ryan announced earlier this month.

The gift will be matched with $5 million more from the university’s Bicentennial Professorship Fund, for a total investment of $10 million, according to U.Va.’s announcement. The Tadlers, who live part time in Charlottesville, met at U.Va. and were married there in 1979. Richard Tadler is a 1978 graduate of the McIntire School of Commerce and has worked in private equity funding for 40 years. He is presently a senior advisor at TA Associates, where he has worked since 1987, and is based in Boston. Donna Tadler is a 1979 graduate of the School of Education and Human Development, and she worked previously at CYRK Inc.

“Much of what matters to donors is the opportunity to work across schools and curriculums,” Richard Tadler said in a statement. “That’s why a university professorship is so compelling to us. Entrepreneurship is still in the very formative stages in academic circles, and we wanted to focus on something that will be transformative for a university that was so important to both of us. This is a chance to include entrepreneurship as one of 10 very significant academic fields that can be raised to a higher level at U.Va. We are honored to help make that happen.”

U.Va. started the university professorship program to award distinguished scholars whose work is interdisciplinary, allowing the recipient to teach in any discipline at the university. The president and provost will appoint the holder of the Tadler professorship.

“Nurturing an entrepreneurial culture at U.Va. requires smart investment in faculty,” Ryan said in a statement. “With this university professorship, Donna and Richard Tadler are giving students across Grounds the opportunity to learn business and life skills that will foster growth and success. Donna and Richard are active and devoted alumni, and I am incredibly grateful for their generous gift. Their thoughtful investment will yield long-lasting benefits to our community.”