The Lucas Gift

Donald (B.S. ’59) and Sally (B.A. ’57) Lucas

The Donald and Sally Lucas Graduate School of Business is the result of one of the largest private gifts to SJSU, to date. The gift funds endowed professorships, faculty fellowships, and a global scholars-in-residence program. 

Donald Lucas attributes his success with the Lucas Dealership Group and Lucas Trust Ventures to his SJSU education. It all began on San Carlos Street, just seven blocks from the university, where Donald opened his first used car lot during his junior year to help pay for his education.

How’s that for being an early entrepreneur?

The Lucas Dealership Group soon became one of the first multiple franchise automobile companies in the country, with 40 different dealerships in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Monterey and Hawaii.

By 1999, the Lucas Dealership Group had grown to become one of the top 25 automobile companies in the country with 900 employees and producing close to $500 million in sales annually.

In 2000, Donald sold the Lucas Dealership Group Corporation, retaining most of the real estate holdings subsequently sold in 2011. He currently heads Lucas Trust Ventures, which oversees the real estate and private investment holdings.

Donald graduated from SJSU in 1959 with a bachelor's degree in marketing. Sally graduated in 1957 with a bachelor's degree in education. As a young teacher, she recognized that creative thinking was the most important part of education, and what she enjoyed the most.

For many years before and after providing this gift, Donald and Sally have demonstrated their loyalty to their alma mater. Donald has served as the chair of the SJSU Tower Board. And both have served as co-chairs of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library Committee and contributed to the SJSU Heritage Gateways project.

Well-known for their philanthropy, particularly for their strong interest in the arts and programs for disadvantaged youths, the couple’s charitable work includes: Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose; Arts Council Silicon Valley; YWCA Villa Nueva; YMCA; Boy Scouts; Symphony Silicon Valley; San Jose Museum of Art; Ballet San Jose; The Summit League; Hoover Institution; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Monterey Bay Aquarium; The First Tee of Monterey County; Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula; Hospice Foundation of Monterey; Monterey Museum of Art; Honolulu Academy of Art/Contemporary Art Museum; and North Hawaii Community Hospital.