Gift of $5 million from entrepreneurial Houston philanthropists establishes center focusing on free enterprise and job creation.
Northwood University announces the launch of the new Robert C. And Janice S. McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at its campus in Midland, Michigan. The McNair Center, established through a generous gift from the Houston-based McNairs, promises to become a leading university think tank focused on the advocacy and expansion of free market economics, and the creation and cultivation of entrepreneurs.
“The McNair Center at Northwood University is going to be a world-class research center for the elevation of knowledge on the workings of free markets and the entrepreneurial process. The major goal of the Center will be to provide research and education to improve individual lives and the well-being of society through research, scholarly studies, and seminars for undergraduate and graduate students, high school teachers, and business and political leaders,” says Dr. Timothy G. Nash, Northwood University senior vice president and director of the McNair Center at Northwood University.
“We are deeply honored that Robert and Janice McNair have chosen Northwood for a $5 million gift,” adds Dr. Keith A. Pretty, Northwood University president and CEO. “The McNairs are living examples of how entrepreneurism and the free enterprise system generate jobs, change lives and quite literally, chart a new course for individuals, families and entire communities. We look forward to carrying out their vision for awakening a new generation of entrepreneurs.”
Robert C. “Bob” McNair is an iconic American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is perhaps best known as the founder, chairman and CEO of the Houston Texans NFL team. He also serves as chairman of The McNair Group, headquartered in Houston, where he oversees an investment portfolio that includes interests in two cogeneration plants in the eastern United States. Among the McNair Group holdings are Palmetto Partners, Ltd. and RCM Financial Services, L.P, private investment entities that manage the McNair’s private and public equity investments. McNair also chairs The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, the Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation in Forest City, North Carolina, and the Houston Texans Foundation in Houston.
“We are proud of our long and valued relationship with Northwood University, and we are excited to invest in a university that has a passion for entrepreneurism, free enterprise and the future success of its student body,” notes Robert McNair. “We are confident the McNair Center at Northwood will mold a new generation of young people who will find their entrepreneurial spirit, achieve the American dream and prove once again, that America’s best days are yet to come.”
For more information on Northwood University, visit www.northwood.edu, or call 800.622.9000.
