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The University of Wisconsin School of Business received a donation for $841,500 Thursday from Ernst & Young LLP to finance a new accounting computer lab and department chair.

The computer lab, which is expected to be up and running by the end of the semester, will be an important resource for accounting students in the School of Business, according to UW accounting professor Brian Mayhew.

“We hope this will build a better sense of community for accounting students and encourage camaraderie,” Mayhew said.

Ernst & Young takes a special interest in investing in UW because of the important role its students play in their company.

According to Keith Burns, a managing partner in the Milwaukee office, about 25 students from the UW business school are placed in their company each year.

“We recruit on a national basis, and [UW] is one of our focus campuses in the U.S.,” he said.

Dave Gay, a campus relationship partner with Ernst & Young, said their donation will help to attract talented faculty and in return, talented students.

“It’s an investment in the campus,” he added. “It’s about increasing opportunities for students and their futures. This is not a one-time donation. We do this on an annual basis … the amount just happened to be a bit larger this year.”

Mayhew said donations like this allow the School of Business to remain one of the top schools of its kind in the country.

“That extra compensation we can now provide will help us remain competitive in retaining faculty,” he said. “Getting these contributions from private donors is really important for us to maintain the quality of the university as a whole.”

Ernst & Young is a “global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services,” according to a press release. They have donated over $100 million to higher education in the United States since 1937 through their philanthropic branch, the Ernst & Young Foundation.

“We give back a lot of ways in our community,” Burns said. “This is just one of the ways we show our commitment.”