University trustee and billionaire Peter Lewis '55, the biggest individual donor in the history of the school, has publicly broken with major recipients of his donations in the past — but he says he remains impressed by Princeton.
Lewis, who resigned from the board of the Guggenheim Museum earlier this year in a public fallout that made headlines across the country, is an auto insurance magnate who has given $117 million to the University.
"Princeton operates better than any other institution with which I've been involved," he said. The trustees, he added, are "talented, conscientious and committed," and the administration is "world-class."
Since his retirement from Progressive Auto Insurance in the 1990s, Lewis has donated tens of millions to the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Case Western Reserve University and Oberlin College in Ohio and various organizations in his hometown of Cleveland.
Lewis is also a major contributor to left-leaning political causes, including the movement to legalize marijuana.
At Princeton, Lewis has given $55 million for the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and $60 million for the Frank Gehry-designed science library currently under construction.
A contentious relationship
Unlike Princeton, Lewis said, other institutions mismanage their gifts.
"Everything I said that was complimentary and positive about Princeton contrasts quite strongly with the administration of the museum," he said. "My money is well used at Princeton, but the same cannot be said for the Guggenheim."
After donating more than $75 million to the Guggenheim, and serving as the chair of its board since 1998, Lewis stepped down from his position in January with harsh criticism for museum director Thomas Krens.
Tensions between Lewis and Krens had been building for years, largely because of Lewis' disagreement with plans for the museum to expand internationally.
Lewis told The New York Times that he wished the museum "would concentrate more on New York and less on being scattered all over the world."
Lewis said he was equally dissatisfied with the state of affairs at Case Western Reserve, where he had poured millions of dollars into the Waterhead School of Management.
Last November, at a meeting during which many expected Lewis to announce a new gift, he instead voiced his dissatisfaction, highlighting what he characterized as Case Western's failure to effectively promote positive change in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland.
At Case Western, Lewis said, "there have been four presidents and four deans of the business school in six years. That's a priori lousy management."
Lewis also said the Gehry-designed Lewis Building at Case Western Reserve cost double the amount of the original estimate.
He contrasted that project with the Gehry-designed science library at Princeton, which is currently expected to be completed within budget.
From student to trustee
Earlier this month, Lewis, who is currently serving his second term as a trustee of the University, was identified by Forbes Magazine as the 387th richest person in the world. His net worth is $1.7 billion.
In 1951, Lewis left his Ohio home for Princeton, and began what he considers "the single most thrilling experience of [his] life."
Princeton, Lewis said, taught him "that there is no end to how excellent you can become."
After graduating, Lewis joined his father's upstart firm, Progressive Auto Insurance, and helped guide its expansion into the third-largest company in the market.
In 1999, Lewis entered the ranks of the University's top donors with a $55 million donation to help launch the Lewis-Sigler Institute.
He had already contributed more than $1 million to the University Art Museum — to establish a new contemporary art gallery — and smaller amounts to other University causes.
Those earlier gifts prompted then-President Harold Shapiro to approach Lewis about joining the Board of Trustees. "I had known him for quite a while," Shapiro said, adding that Lewis had always maintained a keen interest in the University.
Shapiro said he expected Lewis' relationship with the University to continue because of the insurance magnate's "emotional connection to Princeton."
The trustees, the administration and Lewis "all agree on the objective — trying to make this place better and better all the time," Shapiro said.
Lewis said he was happy to renew his commitment to the University when the opportunity to support the new science library arose.
He said he felt especially interested in the project because he has "been a friend and fan of Frank Gehry for a long time."
The unique design of the library attracted Lewis to the project as much as its practical value.
"It will be the first 21st-century building on campus," Lewis said, predicting it will become one of Princeton's "signature buildings."
"I am an enthusiastic fan and supporter of the University," he said.
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