The La Follette School community mourns the loss of Herb Kohl, a champion of the University of Wisconsin and the La Follette School who was deeply committed to public service. Kohl died in his home in Milwaukee on December 27. He was 88.
A former U.S. Senator, influential business leader in Wisconsin, and generous philanthropist, Kohl is remembered as a true leader who was committed to finding common ground. With quiet modesty, he made a tremendous impact in Wisconsin and beyond. Kohl’s generosity extended to the La Follette School, with large gifts in 2016 and 2019 that enabled the school to greatly expand. Kohl was also a founding member of the La Follette School’s Board of Visitors, which provides important guidance to the school.
“His legacy touched on many aspects of life – from business to politics to sports – but nowhere will it be more lasting than in his dedication to educating the next generation of leaders,” says La Follette School Director Susan Webb Yackee. “We are fortunate to have learned from his example, and I am personally grateful to have benefitted from his mentorship.”
Kohl received a bachelor’s degree in American institutions from UW–Madison in 1956 and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. In 1970, he was named president of Kohl’s, his family-owned chain of grocery and department stores, and led the stores with a personal touch, even as the business grew to 74 supermarkets, until the family sold the business in 1979. A lifelong Milwaukee resident, Kohl owned the Milwaukee Bucks professional basketball team from 1985 to 2014, saving the team from the possibility of being moved out of Milwaukee. He provided the lead donation for the UW’s Division I basketball and hockey facility, the Kohl Center.
“Throughout his life, Herb Kohl always put people first—from his employees and their families to his customers and countless charitable organizations and efforts,” says JoAnne Anton, director of giving for Herb Kohl Philanthropies and La Follette School Board of Visitors member.
“Herb Kohl Way isn’t just the name of a street in front of the Fiserv Forum. The Herb Kohl Way perfectly sums up a legacy of humility, commitment, compromise, and kindness to countless people he worked with, served, and helped along the way.”
Kohl represented Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2013, winning four terms on the slogan: “Nobody’s senator but yours.” While making his first Senate run in 1988, Kohl made a commitment that he would not accept contributions from political action committees or other special interests. “The important thing is that when the campaign is over, I will owe nothing to anybody but the people of Wisconsin,” he said at the time.
While in office, Kohl was a master at bridging divides, and former colleagues on both sides of the aisle describe him as gracious and honest. In the ’90s, he negotiated a series of bipartisan gun-control bills, and over the years he made significant progress in the areas of public education, health care, child and senior care, consumer rights, and Wisconsin’s dairy industry.
“Since I came from the world of running a business, politics to me has always been based on working hard, finding common ground, and getting things done,” Kohl said in an interview last year with On Wisconsin magazine. “It often means being willing to meet in the middle.”
Kohl established the Herb Kohl Public Service Research Competition with a $1.5 million gift to the La Follette School in 2016. The competition provides funding for faculty to work with graduate students on innovative public policy research projects that are then shared with policymakers to make evidence-based decisions. He also created the Herb Kohl Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students and fellowships to educators throughout Wisconsin.
In 2019, Kohl made a transformative gift of $10 million to the La Follette School – the largest gift in the school’s history – to establish the Kohl Initiative. “Our democracy is being threatened by bitter partisanship, and the La Follette School is poised to lead by example — fostering cooperation, respectful discourse, and service to others,” Kohl said at the time.
The gift demonstrated Kohl’s deep commitment to public service and his ethos of civility in public debate and policymaking and allowed the school to expand educational opportunities to undergraduate students through new certificates in health policy and public policy. The Kohl Initiative also enabled the school to expand its outreach efforts. The school now hosts an annual La Follette Forum, which convenes policymakers and community leaders to share evidence-based research and thoughtfully debate timely public policy topics.
“During his 88 years, Senator Kohl made an incredible mark on our state as a businessman, politician, and philanthropist. And he was a devoted Badger, an alumnus, supporter, and champion of the university and of higher education,” Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin says. “I am so grateful for his generosity to the Kohl Center, the La Follette School of Public Affairs, his common-sense approach to politics, and his fundamental decency.”
“The La Follette School is a shining example of Senator Kohl’s impact and contributions,” says Yackee. “He will be missed.”
A public memorial service will be held at noon on January 12 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.