University of Dubuque Announces the Robert W. Plaster School of Business

DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque announced today an extraordinary investment in the future of business education as UD's School of Business will be renamed the Robert W. Plaster School of Business in honor of a substantial seven-figure gift from the Robert W. Plaster Foundation. Additionally, the school will be relocated from multiple locations on campus to a centralized location within the Chlapaty Center for Innovation when the center opens fall 2027.

As UD strengthens and realigns academic offerings, the Plaster Foundation's gift creates opportunities for growth, collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship, and connections between classroom learning and real-world experiences.

"We are extremely grateful for the Robert W. Plaster Foundation's generosity and its belief and investment in our vision for preparing the next generation of students as leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Housing the School of Business within the Chlapaty Center for Innovation is a natural extension of that vision," said Travis Frampton, PhD, president of UD. "Human learning has always been uniquely positioned at the intersection of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and the practical application of knowledge. The Robert W. Plaster School of Business will serve as an educational anchor within a center designed to bring together students and faculty from across disciplines to transform ideas into meaningful solutions. This generous gift does more than place a name on a school; it represents a shared commitment to reimagining the future needs of student learning as we create opportunities at UD for generations of students to come."

The Robert W. Plaster School of Business is named after the Plaster Foundation's founder, Robert W. Plaster, who grew up in southwest Missouri as the son of a depression-era carpenter. Plaster lost his father at a young age and spent most of his spare time as a youth mowing yards, selling newspapers, and doing other odd jobs to help support the family. Unable to afford a college degree, he went to work. Plaster founded Empire Gas Corporation in 1963. When it was sold in 1996, Empire was one of the largest retail propane distributors in the country. Throughout his career, Plaster founded over 500 corporations in several different industries. The Robert W. Plaster Foundation was created in 1983 to help students by funding capital projects for colleges and universities.

"Robert W. Plaster believed deeply in the power of education and free enterprise to create opportunity and change lives. The University of Dubuque shares Mr. Plaster's commitment to these values. The Robert W. Plaster Foundation is proud to contribute to this important project and to see his legacy reflected in the Robert W. Plaster School of Business and the new Chlapaty Center for Innovation, where students will be inspired to pursue new ideas, embrace entrepreneurship, and build a meaningful future," said Dolly Clement, DVM, president of the Robert W. Plaster Foundation.

The Plaster Foundation's gift will provide significant support for the construction of the Chlapaty Center for Innovation, an 87,000-square-foot, five-story building that broke ground summer 2026. The center was first announced in fall 2025 when Joseph (C'68, DHL'98) and Linda (HON'23) Chlapaty donated a $35 million legacy gift for the dynamic interdisciplinary hub that encourages hands-on, experiential learning for students from every academic discipline, regardless of major.

"The Chlapaty Center for Innovation represents a fundamental shift in how we think about learning spaces, moving away from environments organized primarily around the delivery of content instruction toward spaces that place students at the center of the learning experience. These environments are intentionally designed to encourage collaboration, creativity, experimentation, and the practical application of knowledge. The Chlapaty Center for Innovation will encourage new opportunities for any of our faculty and staff to mentor students, collaborate across disciplines, and design learning experiences that connect knowledge with practice. Locating the Robert W. Plaster School of Business within this innovative environment reflects our shared commitment to preparing students not simply to understand the world of business but also the importance of free enterprise," Frampton said.

The overwhelming majority of the Chlapaty Center for Innovation, located along McCormick Street, is designed to serve all students. It is intended to include spaces for metalworking and woodworking, 2D and 3D print and cut, textile areas, a culinary suite, digital media studios and photography spaces, a rooftop garden, and more. The Robert W. Plaster School of Business will be located on the third floor and feature business classrooms and faculty offices, open collaboration spaces for business students to bring their ideas to life, and flexible spaces for additional business classes, mentoring, and collaboration with visiting professionals.

"The Robert W. Plaster Foundation's investment will enrich our students' educational experience by providing transformative opportunities to learn, collaborate, and innovate," said Rafic Sinno, MBA, interim dean of the School of Business and associate professor of business at UD. "Housed within the Chlapaty Center for Innovation, the Robert W. Plaster School of Business will connect students with faculty, entrepreneurs, alumni, and industry partners in collaborative spaces where new ideas take shape and students apply what they learn. Through these collaborations, students will develop solutions to real-world challenges and explore how free enterprise can create lasting value for organizations and communities."

Joe Bormann, MA, director of the Chlapaty Center for Innovation at UD, echoed Sinno's statement, noting that having the Robert W. Plaster School of Business within the Chlapaty Center for Innovation will create an opportunity to connect students' creativity with the business knowledge needed to bring ideas to market.

"Students and faculty across disciplines can work together from the beginning, identifying needs, developing ideas, and exploring what it takes to build a viable product, service, or business. That's what excites me: bringing the spirit of free enterprise into a place where students have the tools and support to put their ideas to work," Bormann said.

The Plaster Foundation's gift will support the building the future of learning pillar in UD's Momentum Campaign, a three-year, $150 million comprehensive campaign that runs through 2028. It is another example of the momentum across campus that will create a lasting impact on students.

"The timing of this gift is especially meaningful as we continue our academic recalibration and establish the Robert W. Plaster School of Business. This partnership with the Robert W. Plaster Foundation represents a shared investment in the future of business education at the University of Dubuque. Together, we are creating new opportunities for our students, strengthening our academic programs, and building on the incredible momentum we are seeing across our University," said Scott Rima (C'01, MBA'21), vice president for advancement at UD. "We are incredibly grateful to the Robert W. Plaster Foundation for its confidence in our vision and its commitment to making a lasting difference for generations of students."