Fogelman and his family have a long history of giving graciously to the Fogelman College of Business & Economics, the arts, Tiger athletics and many other areas associated with the University.
A philanthropist and champion of many civic causes, Fogelman and his brother, Avron,
established the Morris S. Fogelman Chair in Real Estate at the UofM in 1973 as a tribute
to their father. Ongoing support from the family prompted the naming of the Fogelman
College in their honor and later the Fogelman Executive Center.
In the 1980s, Fogelman led a group of prominent Memphis business and community leaders in forming the University’s Board of Visitors, for which he served as its first president. He also served on the UofM Foundation Board of Directors, including time spent as its president, and remained an advisor to the dean of Fogelman College for several decades.
A lifetime member of the UofM Alumni Association, Fogelman was named a Distinguished Friend of the University in 1987. The UofM presented him with an honorary doctorate of letters in 2012. One year later, he endowed the Morris S. Fogelman Hillel at the University to honor his father’s legacy in the Memphis Jewish community. The UofM Foundation Board appointed Fogelman an Emeritus Lifetime Foundation Board member in 2019.
“The UofM would not be the well-respected institution that it is today without the continued outstanding and generous support of the Fogelman Family, including Bobby and his wife, Martha,” said UofM President M. David Rudd after Fogelman was named an Emeritus Lifetime Foundation Board member. “We are extremely grateful for their wonderful friendship and are so fortunate to have Bobby and Martha play such an important role in the University of Memphis family.”
In athletics, a gift from Fogelman allowed the UofM rifle team to move back to the main campus in 2017 after two decades of competing at various off-campus sites in Memphis. The R.F. Fogelman Rifle Range sits just off Southern Avenue near the UofM Athletic Office Building.
“This gift will help strengthen our competitive teams and further elevate our University on a national level,” said Rudd in 2018. “We are grateful for the tremendous impact this will have in Tiger athletics.”
The facility has a 10-point range with electronic target systems, live video streaming
and scoring results projected within the range. There is team meeting space, secure
equipment storage, a trophy case and men’s and women’s locker rooms. There is also
an area for spectators to watch practice and competitions.
“My family and I are honored to continue our tradition of philanthropy at the University of Memphis,” said Fogelman following the gift. “We are confident about the continued success of Memphis Tigers athletics, and this project in particular since it is an on-campus facility. We hope this gift will provide the necessary means for our rifle program to compete at the highest levels nationally.”
Fogelman’s wish of a new facility helping the rifle program succeed at the highest level is showing results. During the 2020-21 season, UofM rifle reached the NCAA Championships for the first time in seven years. The Tigers ranked sixth nationally after the NCAA Qualifiers, their highest-ever ranking at that point in a season, and finished seventh at the NCAA Championships.
Other contributions from Fogelman and his wife, Martha, who passed away March 1, 2021, include the Martha and Robert Fogelman Family Sustainable Real Estate Fund and the Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art.
The Fogelman Galleries serve as a professional exhibition space on campus in the Art and Communication Building on Central Avenue. Its presence provides a valuable educational experience for students in the Department of Art and serves as a source of entertainment for the Memphis community while increasing the University’s ability to bring contemporary working artists to campus.
“On behalf of the College of Communication and Fine Arts (CCFA) at the University of Memphis, I want to express our sincere condolences to the Fogelman family on the loss of Robert Fogelman,” said CCFA dean Anne Hogan. “Bobby Fogelman was a generous man with a deep love for, and knowledge about, art. The Martha and Robert Fogelman Galleries of Contemporary Art have significantly benefited our students and our community by dedicating state-of-the-art space to showcase national and international contemporary art in Memphis.”
In 2008, the Fogelmans donated approximately 200 works of indigenous art to the Art
Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM). The primarily African pieces include wooden
objects, iron utilitarian, beaded garments and furniture.
“As Bobby and Martha wished, the collection, which is on permanent display in AMUM’s African Gallery, is actively used by UofM students for research and as a resource for K-12 education,” Hogan said.
Fogelman’s commitment to the University went beyond large projects to include finding ways to improve everyday campus life and helping ensure business school graduates were prepared for job interviews. He was a strong believer that a great city needs a great University, and his impact on the UofM helped make that a reality. He will be greatly missed by the Tiger family.