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Breeden Co. founder donated $50M to alma mater in 2023
Beth JoJack //October 21, 2024//
Ramon W. Breeden, Jr. spoke Friday at the dedication of the Breeden Commerce Grounds at the University of Virginia. Seated behind Breeden (L-R) are his wife, Lucy; his son, C. Torrey Breeden; University of Virginia President James. E. Ryan; and Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, Nicole Thorne Jenkins. Photo courtesy U.Va.
Ramon W. Breeden, Jr. spoke Friday at the dedication of the Breeden Commerce Grounds at the University of Virginia. Seated behind Breeden (L-R) are his wife, Lucy; his son, C. Torrey Breeden; University of Virginia President James. E. Ryan; and Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, Nicole Thorne Jenkins. Photo courtesy U.Va.
Breeden Co. founder donated $50M to alma mater in 2023
Beth JoJack// October 21, 2024//
The University of Virginia on Friday dedicated the Ramon W. Breeden Jr. Commerce Grounds plaza and officially named “Breeden Way,” located adjacent to the McIntire School of Commerce.
The honor is in recognition of Breeden’s legacy as founder and chair of Virginia Beach-based real estate company The Breeden Co., as well as his philanthropy to U.Va., his alma matter, according to a media advisory.
In September 2023, U.Va. announced Breeden, a 1956 McIntire graduate, had given $50 million to support business education and athletics. The gift was divided between the university’s McIntire Expansion Project, a renovation and expansion of U.Va’s commerce school, and the Virginia Athletics Master Plan.
“The McIntire School broadened my education and gave me confidence in myself. I have many friends who attended Ivy League schools, and I can stand toe to toe with them in business, as I got just as good an education and, in some cases, better,” Breeden said in an interview with Virginia Business earlier this year. “McIntire taught me not to give up and to keep pushing on in life.”
The McIntire expansion includes construction of a new building, Shumway Hall, on the southeast corner of U.Va’s lawn as well as a renovated Cobb Hall and a host of outdoor meeting areas, expanded walkways and green spaces.
The athletics plan calls for a new athletics complex, including a 90,000-square-foot home for U.Va’s football program, an Olympic sports center to support to more than 750 student-athletes and the Center for Citizen Leaders and Sports Ethics. Cavaliers celebrated the opening of the 93,000 square-foot football operations center facility opened on June
Breeden, who founded the real estate development company in 1961, served as a member of the McIntire Foundation Board from 1994 to 1996 and also served on its advisor board. In January 2022, he stepped down as president and CEO of his company, naming Timothy Faulkner his successor. Breeden also co-founded Commerce Bank, which was purchased by Branch Bank & Trust, and he then served as a state director of BB&T, now part of Truist Financial Group.
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