Insurance Magnate Endows Business Chair at Chapman : Academia: The contribution from Ralph W. and Eleanor Leatherby becomes the Orange university’s fourth such gift.

A retired, self-made insurance magnate who wants to share some of his business savvy with Chapman University students has given the school a $1.25-million endowment, officials announced Monday.

Administrators will use the gift from Ralph W. and Eleanor Leatherby to create a unique endowed chair in entrepreneurship, the third new endowed chair at Chapman in a year, campus officials said.

“When someone has been able to accomplish a great deal, this kind of an investment is a way they can share their perspective with others coming along,” said Richard McDowell, dean of the School of Business and Economics.

Thomas Turk, 34, Chapman associate professor of management, was appointed to hold the teaching position, Chapman spokeswoman Ruth Wardwell said.

“As Chapman grows from a local county university to one that has national prominence, we realize that part of it is adding chairs,” Chapman University President James. L. Doti said. “It’s a hallmark of a great university.”

Since 1993, two separate gifts of more than $1 million each funded the Fletcher Jones chair in international business and the Delp Wilkinson chair in peace studies, Doti said. The Griset chair in religion was created in 1986.

Chapman now has four endowed chairs, but Doti said: “I’m not going to rest until we have at least 10.”

Through an endowed chair, administrators invest money given to the university and use the interest to pay for unique programs. The Leatherby gift will pay for teaching costs, about two new classes each term, speeches by business whizzes and events centered around burgeoning ventures.

Gifts to Chapman grew dramatically over the past three years, university officials said. The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, for one, gave the university a $300,000 grant for science education in early November.

“Our efforts certainly have been stepped up,” said Paul Carey, Chapman director of development.

In 1991, the university received $6.8 million in cash and pledges, and by 1993 it received $10.1 million. Carey said the university’s goal is $17 million in 1994.

The Leatherby gift will increase opportunities for faculty members to research better ways to run businesses and allow students more access to teaching about the organization and management of enterprises, Wardwell said. It will also support student internships with businesses in the county.

Leatherby, a member of Chapman’s board of trustees, created the Leatherby Insurance Co., Orange County’s largest insurance firm, Wardwell said. When he retired in 1975, his company was rated among the top 100 insurance firms in the country. He went on to found the UniCare Insurance Co. in 1979.

As Leatherby chair, Turk will organize a business symposium in January, Wardwell said. The conference for students, faculty and local entrepreneurs will feature discussions about running enterprises in Southern California and providing business education for a global economy.

Turk, a former instructor at Texas A & M University, has expertise in corporate strategy, Wardwell said. Turk earned a doctorate in strategic management from UC Irvine’s business school in 1988 and joined Chapman in 1992. He lives in Yorba Linda.