The UAB School of Business will be named for longtime supporters Charles and Patsy Collat in recognition of their $25 million in gifts and pledges to the school.
The naming, approved today by the University of Alabama System's Board of Trustees, comes as the university prepares to publicly launch the Campaign for UAB, its most ambitious fundraising campaign to-date, with the Collat donation as the lead gift.
Charles Collat is former CEO of Mayer Electric Supply Company Inc. Under his leadership, Mayer grew to be one of Birmingham's largest privately held companies. He and his wife Patsy are longtime supporters of UAB, and their collective gifts represent the largest philanthropic support from any donor to UAB. The naming will make The Charles and Patsy Collat School of Business the first school at UAB to carry the name of a benefactor.