2021 Philanthropists of the Year
Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg were honored with the Philanthropists of the Year award at the 2021 Alumni Grand Awards gala.
December 13, 2021
The Philanthropist Award is given every fall at the MSU Alumni Grand Awards Gala. The award honors those who have demonstrated outstanding philanthropic responsibility toward MSU and whose generosity inspires others. This year alumnus Robert (Bob) Wilfred Schaberg and his wife Anna Lou A. Schaberg received the award.
Together, they are co-founders of the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation, community advocates and Spartan philanthropists.
Bob holds a B.S. in accounting from the Eli Broad College of Business and his M.B.A. from Wayne State University. Anna Lou holds a B.S. in psychology and an M.Ed. in special education from Virginia Commonwealth University.
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Bob earned a CPA, trained as a housing developer in greater Detroit and in 1978 moved to Richmond and founded AMURCON Corporation of Virginia, a realty company specializing in multifamily housing throughout the state.
Bob serves as president of AMURCON, which has developed housing including apartments, for-sale condos and elderly and assisted living facilities. The company has built over 5,000 housing units in Virginia and currently manages 40 properties.
Anna Lou has been an active partner with Bob in their community advocacy and philanthropic efforts. In 1990, Bob created the Virginia Nonprofit Housing Coalition, now known as the Bob and Anna Lou Schaberg Foundation.
When Anna Lou retired from public education in 2000, she joined Bob to direct grant and gift programs. The foundation’s mission is to enable vulnerable populations to thrive. It supports nonprofits working with housing, workforce development and children and adult services, from grassroots organizations to community collaborations and advocacy.
The foundation currently works with more than 70 nonprofits in Virginia as well as those of special interest to the Schabergs. Most recently it has responded to community needs that arose during the pandemic.
In addition to their foundation work, the Schabergs have given generously to the Eli Broad College of Business, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum and MSU Athletics, enabling faculty endowments, facility construction, scholarships and program development.
They created the Ernest W. & Robert W. Schaberg Endowed Chair in Accounting, named the Broad College of Business Edward J. Minskoff Pavilion Welcome Plaza and enhanced the Broad student experience through support of a full-time director of student engagement position and development of a platform to collect information on co-curricular activities.
Additionally, the Schabergs have helped finance construction of the Spartan Stadium North End Zone and funded Broad College of Business Residential Business Community student scholarships.
