Marvin and Jeffrey Levy, brothers and University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni, donated $75 million to their alma mater for a new engineering building that will be named in honor of their brother, Phillip, another graduate of the university, who died in 2021, the school announced on Wednesday. This represents the largest ever donation made to the university.

“Through this gift, we can ensure the College of Engineering will remain on the leading edge and educate an ever-expanding number of talented engineers for generations to come,” Marvin said at an announcement event at the university. “Our family deeply appreciates the vital role engineering plays in driving innovations that advance our society and contribute to people’s quality and enjoyment of life. Jeff and I view support of this new engineering building as a gift to the state of Wisconsin.”

The university has also received $197 million in funding from the state of Wisconsin for the new eight-story building, which will be named the Phillip A. Levy Engineering Center, leaving the school to raise another $75 million for the $347 million project.

The university said the new facility will allow “the College of Engineering to expand its enrollment and amplify its positive effects on people, communities, businesses and industries everywhere.”

Marvin and Jeff Levy run the Phillips Distributing Corp., a beverage business their family founded nearly a century ago. They previously donated $20 million to help build a new UW-Madison College of Letters & Science academic building, which was named in honor of their parents, Irving and Dorothy Levy.

In addition to the university, the pair donate to a large number of causes in Madison, Wisconsin, including to the city’s rotary foundation’s scholarship program, to its symphony orchestra, children’s museum, public library, and Museum of Contemporary Art; as well as to the city’s Beth El and Beth Israel Center synagogues.

Their brother, Phillip Levy, who graduated with an English degree in 1964, went on to have a successful interior design career. He donated to many of the same causes as his brothers, as well as to a host of other arts-related causes and to the Madison AIDS Support Network, the Dane County Humane Society and the Madison Jewish Federation. He also donated to UW-Madison, helping create a Master of Science in Design + Innovation program.