Leo Potishman Foundation Pledges $2 Million to Texas A&M-Fort Worth Construction
October 14,2024
See full Fort Worth Magazine article by FWTX Staff here.
The Leo Potishman Foundation has pledged a $2 million gift for the construction and development of Texas A&M-Fort Worth, the university announced on Wednesday.
“Fort Worth and the Texas A&M System are a natural fit,” said chancellor John Sharp. “The community’s support for the new campus is surpassing our expectations, and we look forward to helping boost the local and regional economy.”
Potishman, who died in 1981 at age 85, was a longtime Fort Worth businessman and philanthropist whose foundation continues to support local arts, education and community institutions.
Texas A&M-Fort Worth will anchor a technology and innovation district the city is planning for the area around the convention center, which is in the process of being renovated and expanded.
The campus will provide a Tier One backbone of research and education, coupled with a diverse range of innovative educational, workforce development, research, technology and service programs offered by Texas A&M University, Tarleton State University, the Texas A&M School of Law, and Texas A&M engineering, agriculture, emergency management and health sciences, among others.
Last year the Texas A&M System broke ground on the eight-story, almost $200 million Law & Education Building, to house key education components. A topping out ceremony celebrating placement of the final beam is planned for later this year.
In August, the Board of Regents authorized the design of Research & Innovation Building A, which will be the primary home for A&M System agencies on the campus and is expected to cost up to $260 million, including 150,000 square feet of offices and lab space for the A&M System at an estimated cost of $150 million.
Further space will be for private sector partners as well as parking for campus tenants and the public.
In September, the Fort Worth City Council authorized spending up to $18 million for design of Research & Building A. Longer-range plans include future expansion into Research & Innovation Building B. Also, the existing law school building will eventually be replaced with a multi-purpose community building called the Gateway Building.
The son of a Russian Jewish immigrant, Potishman, a rags-to-riches guy, was president and owner of Transit Grain Co. and Vit-A-Way Inc., which developed an additive of minerals and vitamins for livestock and poultry.
TCU’s tennis facilities, which he helped renovate, were initially named, at the time of the renovations, in honor of his sister Mary Potishman Lard.
He served in the Army during World War I. After the war, he sold auto insurance and invested in oil. At age 21, he “retired” until he could decide what he wanted to do next.
That turned out to be grain.
Potishman was also a founding board member of Lena Pope.
In 1980, 10 or so months before his death, he offered a $500 reward for information leading to the person who killed a bison at the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge.
Like any good Aggie would do.
Location Mentioned: Texas A&M Fort Worth