Urban Planning Professor Looks to the Future

After being loyal supporters of UWM for more than 40 years, Sam and Jean White wanted to extend the impact of their generosity. With that in mind, they created the Professor Sam White Fund for Urban Planners by including the UWM Foundation in their estate plan. This fund will provide scholarships for students enrolled in the Master of Urban Planning (MUP) program at UWM’s School of Architecture & Urban Planning.

“We see urban planning as a very important profession in the development of healthy, just communities,” Sam and Jean say. “Planners must learn and use a range of skills from a variety of disciplines to help communities address widely varying problems. UWM’s urban-planning alumni have been doing this in more than 40 states and several countries for 45 years, and we want this influence to continue.”

They created this fund to attract even more highly qualified students and to provide resources needed to educate individuals committed to solving public-policy issues.

“The UWM Development team was very helpful in crafting the appropriate vehicle for our desire to create long-term support for urban planning,” Sam and Jean say.

The couple have already begun contributing to the fund in order to establish the endowment and enjoy seeing scholarship recipients benefit from their gift. They also want to encourage others to support urban planning at UWM.

Once their estate gift is realized and the fund reaches a predetermined threshold, their gift will support the research, teaching and service of MUP faculty as well as providing scholarships for students.

“We wanted to make sure this was arranged while we were healthy and in control,” they add. “We think the UWM Foundation is an extremely worthy recipient.”

Sam has devoted virtually his entire academic career to UWM. He came to Milwaukee in 1973, one year after earning his doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, to be one of five founding faculty members of UWM’s Department of Urban Planning. He stayed for nearly half a century, serving as chair of the department from 1977 to 1982 and publishing more than 160 journal articles, book chapters, reports, monographs and 22 research reports for the Wisconsin Policy Institute. A beloved instructor of countless alumni, he retired as professor emeritus in 2016.

Jean, also trained as an urban planner, began exploring criminal justice system planning while she was a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a certified court administrator and a manager of the former Arthur Young and Co. Both Sam and Jean view urban planning as a critical element of thriving communities.

Like Sam and Jean, you can impact students’ futures and support what’s important to you by making a planned gift that creates scholarship opportunities. To learn how, contact Gretchen E. Miller, J.D. at gemiller@uwm.edu or (414) 229-3067.