ATLANTA, November 3, 1999. Noted entrepreneur, civic leader and Atlanta native Herman J. Russell, Sr., chairman of H.J. Russell & Company, announced today that he will donate $1 million each to Tuskegee University, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College and Georgia State University to expand their programs in entrepreneurship. The $4 million pledge is the largest gift to entrepreneurship by an African-American in the nation's history. Each university, in turn, will raise or commit an additional $1 million in matching funds raising the total value of the endowment base to $8 million.
"We live in an entrepreneurial society, and I've enjoyed considerable success as an entrepreneur. I want to encourage others to become business owners as a viable alternative to the traditional corporate career route," Russell said. "Entrepreneurial success is about behavior, the decisions you make, learning to innovate - and not about personality. I am confident the student entrepreneurs at Tuskegee, Clark Atlanta, Morehouse and Georgia State will capitalize on this opportunity."
Tuskegee University will use the Russell gift to fund the Herman J. Russell Scholarship Fund that will ensure the completion of the degree requirements for many deserving students majoring in business, hospitality management, engineering and construction science. "Mr. Russell's spirit of caring and benevolence mirrors the principles upon which Tuskegee University was founded and represents the values the University continues to emphasize," said President Benjamin F. Payton. Mr. Russell graduated from Tuskegee in 1953 and is the Second Vice Chairman of the University's Board of Trustees.
Clark Atlanta University will use the funds to endow a chair in entrepreneurship in the School of Business Administration in the name of his wife, Otelia (a 1952 graduate of Clark College), and Herman Russell. The endowed chair will increase educational and career placement opportunities for minorities seeking to establish entrepreneurial ventures. "The naming of the endowed chair in entrepreneurship will etch in perpetuity the contribution of this wonderful Atlanta family, who seek to improve the pervasive problem of access for African Americans wishing to establish creditable business ownership," said President Thomas Cole Jr.
Morehouse College will use the $1 million gift to create a lecture series, develop a curriculum emphasis in entrepreneurship and support construction of the facility that will house the entrepreneurship program. Both the entrepreneurship lecture series and the space in the new facility occupied by the program will be named in honor of Russell. We are very pleased to have the name of Herman Russell prominently associated with an initiative so vital to our long-term strategy of establishing and maintaining business leadership development as a center of excellence at Morehouse," said Morehouse President Walter F. Massey.
The J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University will name the school's International Center for Entrepreneurship for Mr. Russell and launch several new initiatives including the Herman J. Russell Entrepreneurship Awards program. "We are delighted to have our International Center for Entrepreneurship associated with someone of Mr. Russell's stature," said Dean Sidney E. Harris.
"Herman Russell is a dream maker, he believes that anything is possible. His entrepreneurial spirit, as evidenced by the tremendous success of his companies, and his personal determination makes him an ideal role model for our students," Georgia State University President Carl V. Patton said.
All four institutions have agreed to work together to launch an annual lectureship series which will carry Mr. Russell's name. Additionally, the four institutions are exploring opportunities to develop a joint internship program for the students enrolled in their courses.
Russell's entrepreneurial career began early in his life. At 16, he purchased his first parcel of land and over time built a duplex. After graduating from Tuskegee Institute's building program, he returned to Atlanta to work alongside his father as a plastering subcontractor. In 1952, he extended the business into H.J. Russell & Company, which is now one of the nation's largest minority-owned firms and one of Atlanta's largest real estate and construction companies. The firm has consistently ranked in the top ten of Black Enterprise's "Top 100" Minority Black Enterprises (MBEs) in America and first among construction MBEs.
Some of Russell's more visible projects in the Southeast include the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport (providing both program management and general contracting services), Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, Turner Field (previously Olympic Stadium), Atlanta City Hall and the Georgia Dome. Private sector projects include headquarters for Georgia-Pacific, Wachovia Banks and The Village at Castleberry Hill. Subsidiaries of H.J. Russell & Company include: Russell Properties, formed in 1991, an Atlanta-based real estate development company; and Concessions International, created in 1978, which operates food and beverage concessions in various international airports.
Mr. Russell has received numerous entrepreneurship awards, including the Dow Jones Entrepreneurial Excellence Award in 1992 and the National Black MBA Association's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1991. In addition, he received the Horatio Alger Award in 1991 and was inducted into Georgia State University's Business Hall of Fame, and the Junior Achievement's Atlanta Business Hall of Fame in 1992.
He holds honorary doctorate degrees from Morris Brown College and Morehouse College. He serves on numerous boards, including Citizens Trust Bank, The Commerce Club, Georgia Power Company, National Service Industries, Georgia Port Authority, Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Central Atlanta Progress. He is past president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
For more information, contact:
Tammy Demel
Office of External Affairs
Robinson College of Business
404/413-7078
404/702-9743 (cell)
