Frazier donates $25 million to UofL

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    LOUISVILLE, Ky.鈥揕ouisville philanthropist Owsley Brown Frazier has donated $25 million to the University of Louisville. The donation is the largest ever made to UofL by a person and is also believed to be the largest outright gift to any Kentucky college or university.

    The gift, announced today in a ceremony on UofL鈥檚 Belknap Campus, will be used to improve the quality of the university鈥檚 academic, research and athletic programs.

    Frazier, immediate past president of the UofL Board of Trustees, holds degrees in law and business administration and an honorary doctorate from UofL. He is the great-grandson of George Garvin Brown, who founded Brown-Forman Corp., one of the world鈥檚 largest wine and spirit companies.

    鈥淚鈥檓 a proud graduate of UofL and I鈥檝e seen how its academic and research mission has flourished under President Jim Ramsey,鈥 Frazier said. 鈥淚 hope my gift will further that mission and spur others to do the same.鈥

    Ramsey praised Frazier, calling him 鈥渁 personal friend and great friend of the city of Louisville, higher education and UofL in particular. His generosity is making a difference in the health, learning and quality of life for generations of students and Kentuckians.鈥

    The gift brings to more than $40 million the amount Frazier and his daughters have given to UofL. In September, UofL named its College of Business building Harry Frazier Hall in honor of Owsley鈥檚 late brother, Harry Frazier Jr., after a gift from the families of Harry and Owsley.

    So far, UofL has raised $582 million towards the $1 billion goal set for its capital campaign, 鈥淐harting Our Course: A Campaign for Kentucky鈥檚 Premier Metropolitan Research University,鈥 which Frazier co-chairs.

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    Mark Hebert
    Following a 28-year career as a radio and television reporter, Mark Hebert joined the University of Louisville as the Director of Media Relations in 2009, serving as the main spokesperson. In 2015, Mark was named Director of Programming and Production. He鈥檚 now producing and hosting a radio show about 鈥渁ll things UofL鈥, overseeing the university鈥檚 video and TV productions and promoting UofL鈥檚 research operation. Mark is best known for his 22 years as the political and investigative reporter for WHAS-TV in Louisville where he won numerous awards for breaking stories, exposing corruption and objectively covering Kentucky politics. In 2014, Mark was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.