Award-winning insurance distribution holding company Baldwin Risk Partners (BRP) announced Wednesday morning that it will donate $5.26 million in efforts to deliver talent from USF into the insurance and risk assessment industry.

The School of Risk Management is a branch of the Muma College of Business that was established in 2020 and is housed at the Sarasota-Manatee campus. Students majoring in risk management study the likelihood of which an institution would need to file an insurance claim and the risks that may jeopardize its welfare.

Following the donation, which is the largest ever to be made to the Sarasota-Manatee campus, the university has now renamed its School of Risk Management and Insurance to the Baldwin Risk Partners School of Risk Management and Insurance.

“We are the fastest rising university in the country. This really puts an exclamation point on that and gives us the ability to attract the brightest and to retain them to make sure that they are career ready,” President Rhea Law said Wednesday at a 150-plus person ceremony on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. 

“BRP’s milestone investment will allow the University of South Florida to grow the school into a powerhouse in risk management and insurance education and prepare future generations of insurance industry leaders for high-demand roles that are critical to supporting Florida’s economy.”

Having deep ties to the Tampa Bay community, BRP co-founder Lowry Baldwin wants the money to go to scholarships so members of the college can receive the same engaging education his children received when they attended.

Part of a healthy work culture is giving back to the same community you serve, according to Baldwin. By donating money to the university, Baldwin said they are able to invest in the future generation of leaders.

“We can see the really fantastic sensibility of how incredible the university is in terms of offering lots of opportunity,” Baldwin said.

“One of our cultural imperatives [at BRP is] to be super active in our communities. Our investment in us, that risk management and insurance program gives us the opportunity to make a down payment on our collective future, and to give back to the communities that have served us.”