$20-Million Donation to College Hinges on Name Change

A $20-million donation to the financially troubled Paul Smith’s College in rural upstate New York is in limbo, dependent on whether the college agrees to rename itself, a controversial issue that has landed the matter in court.

Joan Weill, a longtime board member and benefactor to Paul Smith’s College and the wife of Wall Street billionaire and Citigroup creator Sanford I. Weill, will donate $20 million if the school renames itself Joan Weill-Paul Smith’s College, according to The New York Times.

The college was founded in 1937 with money and land donated by Phelps Smith, who required that the college be forever known as Paul Smith’s College of Arts and Sciences, in honor of his father.