Barney & Ann Mizel:
A Businessman’s Vision Helps Prepare Students for Lives of Purpose

Barney and Ann Mizel with students

Over more than three decades, Ann and Bernard (Barney) Mizel's relationship with Dominican has deepened in both their understanding of the Dominican experience and in their contributions to that experience. Ann is a Dominican alum, having graduated in 1980 with a BA in speech/communications. The Mizels' late daughter Jeannie Mizel graduated in 1994 with a BA in art history, making the past 36 years a family relationship with Dominican. Today, in addition to being among Dominican's most generous donors, Barney freely shares the wisdom of his years of business experience with students by teaching in Dominican's Barowsky School of Business and serving as a student mentor. The students love him, and he loves sharing with them.

As a successful businessman, having built three national insurance brokerage firms—the last of which, USI, is one of the largest in the U.S —Barney has accumulated a wealth of practical and philosophical insights that he hopes will be of value to students in both their business and personal lives. His basic philosophy is that in order to excel in business, it is necessary to listen and learn from others—including those outside the business world.

"I very much admire Dominican's dedication to educating the whole person and to

making sure that each student's time is fulfilling and leading to something productive. To be a leader in business, you need to have diversified life experiences," Mizel says. "Some people are influenced by music or art or various other cultural experiences, but the key is to be multi-dimensional."

Because of their deep dedication to educating the whole person for success in life, the Mizels have taken an additional step and made a provision to support Dominican through their estate planning. Through their family foundation, Barney and Ann hope to provide a significant level of annual funding to support the University's educational programs in perpetuity.

With a transformative gift of this kind, the Mizels will continue their vision for the holistic development of each student's intellectual and professional life long after their lifetimes. As Barney has said, "I am impressed that Dominican is creating opportunities for students to fulfill their destinies in ways they could not easily accomplish elsewhere. The University is preparing its students for lives of purpose."