Couple donates $10M to UW for scholarships, faculty positions

Tom Falk and Karen Falk are donating $10 million to fund need-based scholarships and endowed faculty positions, according to a news alert.

The Falks’ donation is a combination of an immediate outright gift and a bequest, officials said.

“I believe that the best people are in every corner in society, and we want to make sure the best people in society have a chance to rise up,” Tom Falk said in the alert. “So we have devoted some scholarship money to make sure the best and brightest students have a chance to get an education.”

The couple’s experiences inspired them to look for ways to help others afford college, so they created the Karen A. Falk Diversity Scholarship Fund in Education, according to the alert. The scholarship will be offered through the Wisconsin School of Business.

“It’s really important for children to have role models who look like them or have similar backgrounds to them,” Karen Falk said in the release. “We want to help take those fabulous students and make sure they can actually afford to complete an education.”

The Falks will also endow two faculty chairs: the Karen A. Falk Distinguished Chair of Education and the Thomas J. Falk Distinguished Chair in Business, officials said. Both positions will support the areas of study that the schools’ leaders feel are most important.

The Falks have served on the board of visitors for the schools they graduated from, and Tom Falk is currently the chair of the UW Foundation’s Board of Directors, according to the alert.

“We are fortunate to have the support of Karen and Tom Falk,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the alert. “They have shown incredible dedication to UW-Madison, and this gift will benefit many future Badgers in years to come.”