$1 Million Gift to Fund Endowed Professorship in Management

By Jacqueline Molik Ghosen

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- H. William Lichtenberger has made a $1 million gift to the University at Buffalo School of Management to establish an endowed professorship.

The H. William Lichtenberger Professor of Global Services and Supply Management was created to help the UB School of Management attract and retain top talent and build its Global Services and Supply Management program.

“This generous gift will help us to build a world-class program designed to train managers for a 21st century that is increasingly defined by the global dispersion of information, services and business processes,” said Arjang A. Assad, dean of the School of Management. “The Lichtenberger professorship also will provide the faculty leadership we need to conduct cutting-edge research and teach in this exciting area of management practice.”

Lichtenberger made the gift in recognition of the leadership of the school’s former dean, John M. Thomas.

“I am honored and extremely grateful to Bill for his gift to the school,” said Thomas, who now serves as a professor in the school and director of the School of Management HSBC Center for Global Business Leadership.

Lichtenberger earned his MBA from the UB School of Management in 1966. While studying at UB, he divided his time between school and the roles of husband, father and full-time chemical engineer.

He worked his way up the corporate ladder at the former Union Carbide Co. and in 1992 was named chairman and CEO of Union Carbide spinoff Praxair, one of the world’s largest industrial gas companies.

At the height of his career, Forbes ranked Lichtenberger as one of the top dozen most powerful executives in the U.S. chemicals industry and one of the most powerful chief executives in all of corporate America.

A strong believer that industry and education should be partners, Lichtenberger played a key role in helping to develop the UB School of Management’s Executive MBA program in China, helping to advance Chinese knowledge of Western business practices.

Lichtenberger retired from Praxair in 2000. He has served in the past as a member of the Business Roundtable, a director of the National Association of Manufacturers, and a member of the board of the Chemical Manufacturers Association. He currently serves on the boards of Huntsman Corporation and Ingersoll-Rand and is chairman of Treasure Coast Hospice, headquartered in Stuart, Fla.

In 2001, Lichtenberger was awarded an honorary doctorate from the State University of New York.

The H. William Lichtenberger Lecture Hall in the Alfiero Center is named in honor of a prior gift to the school, which he made in recognition of the School of Management’s contribution to his career success.

Lichtenberger and his wife, Pat, divide their time between Palm City, Fla., and Ridgefield, Conn.

The Wall Street Journal has ranked the UB School of Management No. 9 in the nation among schools with strong regional recruiting bases. In addition, BusinessWeek has ranked the school as one of the country's top 5 business schools for the fastest return on MBA investment, and Forbes cited it as one of the best business schools in the U.S. for the return on investment it provides MBA graduates. For more information about the UB School of Management, visit mgt.buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system that is its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB’s more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.