Eugene Lang, businessman and trustee of the university, died Saturday, The New School confirmed in a blog post Sunday. He was 98.
Lang has been a New School trustee since 1978 and was quickly taken with its then-small liberal arts school, the Seminar College.
“Eugene Lang’s passion, wisdom, and generosity are humbling and inspiring. He has left an extraordinary legacy to our university,” said David Van Zandt, the president of The New School, in an email on Monday.
The Seminar College was renamed Eugene Lang College after he donated $5 million in 1985.
“Eugene Lang did a very bold thing: He started a liberal arts college in New York City, with a core commitment to civic engagement and independent thought,” said Dean Stephanie Browner in the blog post.
Lang made a further donation of $5 million to Eugene Lang College in 2012.
“The legacy of @EugeneLang will live on in the community he founded: fearless, kind, dedicated to social equality,” The New School tweeted.
As well as being an entrepreneur, Lang was also a philanthropist. In 1981, during a visit to his old school, he promised the sixth-grade class that he would pay for their college tuition if they completed high school.
Lang’s work had led to the support of over 16,000 children within the United States.
Stephanie Browner announced on Monday that two funeral services will be held. One this week, and another on a currently unspecified date.