Mission Statement of the Taubman Institute:
To provide the University of Michigan’s finest medical scientists the freedom, resources and collaborative environment they need to push the boundaries of medical discovery, to produce breakthroughs in cures and treatment of disease and ultimately to alleviate human suffering.
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A. Alfred Taubman
Alfred Taubman is best known for his collection of upscale shopping malls, which is credited with having revolutionized America’s retail landscape.
But he was also active in a variety of other business endeavors, owning and operating at one time or another:
- A&W Restaurants
- Sotheby’s Auction House
- Woodward & Lothrop and Wanamaker’s department stores
- The Michigan Panthers of the U.S. Football League
- The Irvine Company (which owned 77,000 acres of only partially developed land in Orange, Calif.).
He has also earned a well-deserved reputation for philanthropy. He has been particularly generous to the University of Michigan, where he went to school, with donations of more than $60 million.
His major gifts include:
- $30 million for the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, which now bears his name
- $4 million to the U-M Museum of Art
- $3 million toward the building of the University Hospital and the A. Alfred Taubman Health Care Center
And of course, now, $22 million to the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute.
