The man who helped bring football to Florida Atlantic University has given the Boca Raton school $1 million more. Howard Guggenheim, a Holocaust survivor who has lived in Boca Raton for 46 years, is splitting the gift across FAU Athletics, the College of Business, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and the Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building, the university announced on Oct. 15.

Four places the money goes

According to FAU's announcement, the gift supports students, faculty and programs in four parts of the university:

  • FAU Athletics, where Guggenheim's ties go back to the start of the football program.
  • The College of Business, where he has funded scholarships for students.
  • The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, where he has supported the college's White Coats program.
  • The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building, a part of the gift the university says is shaped by his own experience as a Holocaust survivor and is meant to preserve that history and teach it to future generations.

FAU did not say how the $1 million is divided among the four.

The first founding donor of FAU football

Football came to FAU nearly three decades ago, and Guggenheim was part of it from the earliest days. The university says he helped bring Coach Howard Schnellenberger to FAU and became the program's first founding donor. He later supported the football stadium, spent time on the practice field mentoring coaches and players, and has traveled with the team.

FAU athletic director Josh McCowan called him the original founding donor who brought football to the university nearly three decades ago. University President Adam Hasner thanked him for decades of support for what Hasner calls the Hometown University, and said the gift advances athletics, business and medicine while taking a stand against antisemitism. Blake Davis, who leads FAU's advancement office and the FAU Foundation, said the gift opens doors for students, student-athletes and coaches.

Guggenheim, for his part, told the university he wants to give back to the community that has supported him and help young people build successful lives, and that FAU feels like family to him.

A name across Boca Raton

FAU's announcement lists his support beyond FAU, too: Boca Raton Regional Hospital, Boca Helping Hands, the Dwight Stephenson Foundation and the Festival of the Arts BOCA.

Following the gift

The university posts news on its gifts, athletics and academic programs at the FAU newsdesk.

Sources