Erb Institute Receives $4.9 Million to Support Next Generation of Sustainable Business Leaders

Building on 30 years of commitment to sustainability through business, the Fred & Barbara Erb Family Foundation has announced a $4.9 million grant for graduate students at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute.

The new Erb Institute Legacy Scholarships will support current and future Erb students pursuing MBA and MS degrees at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and School for Environment and Sustainability.

“My parents believed deeply in the power of Erb students to change the world,” said John Erb, son of the founders of the Erb Institute and Chair of the Fred & Barbara Erb Family Foundation. “30 years after its founding, the Erb Institute is, by every measure, the number one business and sustainability institute in the world, graduating alumni who are working on the most pressing issues of our time.”

Pursuing two degrees in tandem often requires a greater financial commitment from students. This new gift significantly increases the scholarship packages awarded to Erb Institute students for at least the next 10 years. 

“Our students’ success during and after their time at the University of Michigan is thanks, in large part, to the generosity of the Erb family,” said Charlene Zietsma, the Erb Institute’s Faculty Director. “Scholarships are one of the most powerful tools to ensure we are continuing to shape a future that is sustainable in every way through the power of our students and alumni.”

An Ambitious Beginning

Fred and Barbara Erb first met at a New Year's Eve party as undergraduates at the University of Michigan, the start of a partnership built on family, business, and a shared environmental conviction. As Fred grew his family's company, Erb Lumber, into a $300-million enterprise, both he and Barbara carried a deep environmental ethic—rooted in Barbara's childhood summers on Lake Huron and Fred's lifelong love of nature and the natural environment. These values were reflected in Erb Lumber, where Fred and Barbara invested in their employees through health programs and profit-sharing decades before similar programs like 401(k)s became standard practice. 

When Erb Lumber was sold in 1993, Fred and Barbara turned their attention to philanthropy. In 1996, that conviction led to the founding of the Frederick A. and Barbara M. Erb Environmental Management Institute, a legacy the Erb family has continued to build on ever since. 

Over the past 30 years, the Erb Institute has grown to include three endowed professorships, an undergraduate program, a postdoctoral fellows program, and a direct business engagement arm. Despite this growth, the core of the institute remains the same as it was at its founding: a flagship program that encourages students to pursue careers that do not just prioritize profits, but also environmental, social, and economic impacts. 

The Legacy Continues

Since its founding, the Erb Institute has graduated nearly 1000 students. These alumni have gone on to hold high-ranking public offices, found social-impact-focused ventures, and join the C-suites of Fortune 500 companies. 

The grant funds the Erb Legacy Scholarship for the next 10 years, and marks the beginning of a fundraising effort by the Erb Institute to support this scholarship in perpetuity. 

“We believe that business can—and must—be a tool for good in the world and Erb students and alumni are living proof of that belief,” said Erb. “With our gift, we’ve ensured increased scholarships for the next 10 years. We'd like to call on anyone who shares that conviction to join us—support the scholarship fund and help Erb students carry this work forward for the next 20, 30, 40 years.”