Baylor University Alumnus Paul L. Foster Donates $35 Million to Alma Mater

Baylor University alumnus Paul L. Foster has donated $35 million to his alma mater for the creation of a new business school building and the construction of a football stadium, reported the Waco, Texas Tribune-Herald.

The donation was made to help the university with their $100 million campaign to build a new 275,000-square-foot facility. The new building will be called the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation and it will also house students from the Hankamer School of Business.

Foster's gift is the largest from a living alumnus in the school's history.

"My family and I believe strongly that we have an obligation to give back to the people, the organizations and the communities that have given so much to us," Foster, a graduate of Baylor's class of 1979, said in a press release issued by the university.

"Paul Foster has been steadfast in support of his alma mater, responding to Baylor's call during seminal moments in the life of our University," Baylor President Ken Starr said in the school's press release. "In 2006, his vision and leadership gift helped to establish the Paul L. Foster Success Center, which ensures that Baylor students flourish in their transition from the first year through graduation"

His gift is also being used to help fund the construction of Baylor Stadium. The $250 million project is set to open in 2014 and will be on the school's campus. It will seat 45,000 and will be able to expand to seat 55,000 and hopes to rejuvenate downtown Waco with jobs and economic development.

"We are extremely grateful to Paul Foster for making this generous gift to support Baylor's new on-campus football stadium," Athletic Director Ian McCaw said in the release. "It will be a tremendous honor to have Paul listed among the Stadium Founders who have made this vitally important project possible."

In 2007, Foster donated $50 million to Texas Tech University for the construction of a medical school, making him the school's largest donor ever. Foster is the chairman of the board and executive chairman of Western Refining Inc.