Allan Herbert, the longtime University of Miami philanthropist and former member of its Board of Trustees whose generosity helped transform academics and student life at the institution where he earned three degrees and met the love of his life, has passed away. He was 89.
Herbert’s impact on the University was cross-cutting, touching many aspects of the U. He served on the Board of Trustees for more than a decade, from 2013 to 2024, and also served on the Frost School of Music Dean’s Advisory Committee.
Back in 2017, it was his wife Patti who approached him with the idea of making a landmark gift to the business school. But Allan Herbert, who at the time held two degrees from the school—a Bachelor of Business Administration he earned in 1955 and an M.B.A. three years later—had a better idea.
“I told her we would make the gift in our name, because that’s the way our lives have always been—a partnership,” he recalled. That gift was a significant elevation of the Herberts’ lifetime philanthropy to the University.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Allan Herbert, whose unwavering generosity and dedication have left an indelible mark on our institution,” said Paul A. Pavlou, dean of Miami Herbert Business School. “We will be forever grateful to Allan and Patti Herbert for their extraordinary commitment to the University and the business school. His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched, the example of lifelong learning he offered, and the enduring impact of his philanthropy.”
While arguably the pinnacle of Allan and Patti’s generosity to the University, their gift to the business school was not the couple’s first to the institution. More than a decade earlier, they donated $8 million to name the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center on the Coral Gables Campus, which made possible the renovation and expansion of the facility’s fitness room.
And in an expression of love, they established in 2004 an endowment for the Love Bridge outside the center, with proceeds from the sale of personalized bricks on the bridge benefiting a fitness assessment program for students.
The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the Miller School of Medicine and UHealth — University of Miami Health System, the Frost School of Music, the School of Nursing and Health Studies, the School of Law, the School of Education and Human Development, the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, the Department of Athletics, the Lowe Art Museum, Student Affairs, and Alumni Relations have also benefited from the Herbert’s generosity.
A love story
Allan M. Herbert was born on Aug. 27, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York.
His grandfather, who emigrated to the U.S. from Russia in 1923 to escape the Russian Revolution, was “extremely influential in my early life,” Herbert recalled. “My grandfather worked his tail off. He didn’t speak English, didn’t have a penny to his name, and yet ended up a millionaire during the Great Depression. My grandfather was all the inspiration I ever needed.”
Allan and Patti’s paths crossed at the U in 1954, when he spotted her typing in the University’s student union, where he had gone to apply for a job with the Miami Hurricane student newspaper. “For me, it was literally love at first sight,” recalled Allan Herbert.
They married in 1958 and went onto successful careers—Allan as a group executive and insurance company president at Teledyne, and Patti at the Grubb and Ellis commercial real estate firm.
The two were longtime owners of the Richmond Hotel in Miami Beach, and both were members of Iron Arrow, the highest honor attainable at the University.
Patti, whose maiden name was McBride before she married, passed away at the age of 84 on July 27, 2020, three years before Allan Herbert would earn his Ph.D. from the Herbert Business School.
He focused the theme of his doctorate on the experiences of four major industrialized countries—the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—in the post-World War II era, exploring the relationship between wealth and income inequality.
Herbert made a special address at the University’s fall 2023 graduate degree ceremony, where he received his Ph.D. degree and spoke to students about the importance of meeting deadlines and staying motivated. “These lessons,” Herbert told graduates, “are universal and can guide each of you towards your own paths of success.”
