Johnson Investment Counsel’s Founder Tim Johnson Gives $5M to Establish a Named Institute and Interactive Lab at the UC Lindner College of Business
Leadership gift will help equip new UC Lindner College of Business facility
CINCINNATI – October 20, 2016 - A $5 million gift from Timothy (Tim) Johnson, PhD, founder of Cincinnati-based Johnson Investment Counsel, will establish a named institute and interactive investment lab within the new building for the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business. The leadership gift will help equip the new 225,000-square-foot facility that is expected to be completed by fall 2019.
The Johnson Investment Counsel Institute will feature top-notch facilities, distinguished faculty, collaboration with industry partners and robust student involvement. Specifically, the gift will support a dedicated director for the institute and undergraduate and graduate scholarships. The institute will house the state-of-the-art Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab, which will be equipped with a simulated “trading floor” where students can hone their skills to innovative hardware and software systems. The gift also supports a manager to oversee the interactive lab, which will feature about 30 computer work stations.
“I am pleased to establish the Johnson Investment Counsel Institute and Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab at the Lindner College of Business and look forward to seeing the impact on UC students – our next business leaders,” said Tim Johnson, PhD, founder and chairman of Johnson Investment Counsel. “Equipping the new building with experience-based, leading-edge tools helps position the college and university for even greater success.”
The Johnson Investment Counsel Institute and state-of-the-art Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab will be housed within the new Lindner College of Business building. Early designs, by internationally renowned Henning Larsen Architects, feature a four-story building with glass facades, a grand atrium and lobby, open workspaces, a courtyard, a large café, lecture spaces, a teaching lab and more. Cincinnati-based KZF Design is the architect of record.
“Tim and Janet Johnson and Johnson Investment Counsel are great friends and partners of the college and are among the critically important lead supporters of the exciting, new building project for the Lindner College of Business. Their visionary investment is propelling us forward and is essential to our mission of preeminence in business education,” said David Szymanski, PhD, dean of the Lindner College of Business. “The Johnson Investment Counsel Institute and Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab will be leading-edge and serve as critical experiential learning tools to educate and train future business leaders for Cincinnati and beyond. Thank you to both Tim and Janet and Johnson Investment Counsel for their incredible generosity and tremendous dedication to the success of our college and the university.”
The new Lindner College of Business building is expected to cost about $120 million and will occupy the current site of the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center and Faculty Club building. Temporary and permanent locations are being considered for the Alumni Association.
“This transformative gift will foster an unmatched student experience through enhanced curriculum, hands-on learning and strong industry partnerships while accelerating the rise to preeminence of the University of Cincinnati and the Lindner College of Business,” said UC Interim President Beverly J. Davenport, PhD. “We are grateful to Tim and Janet Johnson and the Johnson Investment Counsel for their leadership and commitment to UC and its talented students.”
Fundraising for the new building has been underway since August 2015, and more than $20 million has been raised for the project. Earlier this month, the family of Carl H. Lindner Jr. and American Financial Group gave $11 million to benefit the project. The current building, located at 2925 Campus Green Drive, is nearly three decades old and unable to accommodate the college’s rapid growth. Enrollment in undergraduate and graduate business degrees have both increased, up 50 percent and 200 percent, respectively, since 2010. More than one third of business classes are now taught outside Lindner Hall.
“Tim Johnson has had a profound impact on the University of Cincinnati and Lindner College of Business both inside and outside the classroom,” said UC Foundation President Rodney Grabowski. “He serves on a number of key boards and committees, generously gives back financially and dedicates himself to seeing UC’s business students succeed. We are so fortunate to have him as a member of our UC family – his latest investment further lifts the profile of the Lindner College of Business and benefits the vital new building project.”
Tim and Janet Johnson were among the founding members of the Lindner Leadership Committee at the Lindner College of Business. This national volunteer coalition of alumni advocates and business leaders are helping make the new facility a reality for the college because of their philanthropy, advocacy and perspectives.
In recent years, the Lindner College of Business has received numerous national accolades and is on a path toward preeminence. Its MBA program has earned the biggest three-year rankings jump in the country in U.S. News & World Report and the Lindner MBA was recently ranked the No. 1 best value MBA program in the United States by CollegeAtlas.org. Several of its undergraduates programs also are nationally ranked, including its marketing program, which Bloomberg Businessweek recently ranked No. 5 in the nation among public universities. The new building will help propel this growth and spur further national and international recognition.
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About the University of Cincinnati Foundation
Established in 1975, the University of Cincinnati Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation and is the private sector fundraising entity for the University of Cincinnati and UC Health. The foundation supports UC’s aspirations through philanthropic collaboration with the colleges, the Academic Health Center, UC Health and other units to maximize private support. The foundation’s advancement efforts promote the development of productive, enduring relationships with alumni, friends, colleagues, students, foundations, corporations and the Greater Cincinnati community. For more information, please visit uc.edu/foundation.
About the Johnson Investment Counsel
In 1965, Timothy E. Johnson, Ph.D., founded Johnson Investment Counsel, an investment management firm that merged proven theories about security analysis and portfolio management with his genuine interest in helping people and institutions. With the help of experienced professionals and knowledgeable staff, the Johnson Investment Counsel has steadily grown to become the state’s largest independent wealth management firm. Through Johnson Private Client Group (which comprises Wealth Advisory Services, Family Office Services, and Financial Advisory Services), Johnson Trust Company, and Johnson Institutional Management, the company serves individuals, corporations, retirement plans, foundations, and endowments. For more information, please visit johnsoninv.com.