Visionary San Diego Philanthropists Ron and Alexis Fowler Donate $6.5 Million to USD to Support Entrepreneurship for a Better World

Ron Fowler, Chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments, Inc. and the former Executive Chairman and co-owner of the San Diego Padres, and his wife Alexis, have made another generous donation to the University of San Diego. Through a series of gifts that now total $6.5 million, the Fowlers’ support will make the University an epicenter for social innovation and entrepreneurship focused on preparing the next generation of changemakers.

The impactful gifts will fund an endowment for The Knauss School of Business’ Fowler Business Concept Challenge, where scholarships are awarded to students whose nascent entrepreneurial ideas have the potential to make a positive impact on the world. The donation will also endow the Kroc School of Peace Studies’ Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge, where students from universities all over the world design and pitch social ventures that seek to tackle humanity's greatest challenges through innovative solutions. 

The USD community is extremely grateful to the Fowler family. Over the years, they have contributed tremendously to the growth and success of the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge and the Fowler Business Concept Challenge. The Fowlers' initial gift to USD's entrepreneurship programming was instrumental in seeding the Catalyzer (housed under The Knauss School of Business' Free Enterprise Institute) which focuses on creating an entrepreneurial mindset among USD students. Many students have benefitted through these entrepreneurial initiatives. New social ventures and socially responsible businesses exist because of them. The Fowler family also funded USD’s state-of-the-art baseball stadium, Fowler Park.

“At the University of San Diego, we are innovative Changemakers. It’s in our vision statement. It’s our true north and informs the decisions we make and the paths that we take,” says USD President James T. Harris III, DEd. “This means we spark the ideas and passions of our students that will help them foster a more sustainable and prosperous future, both locally and abroad. We deeply appreciate the generosity of Ron and Alexis as well as their dedication to the entrepreneurial ambitions of Toreros, today and for generations to come.”

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.