A Renewable Gift

It's no surprise that many technology companies prefer to locate their offices near research universities. Just look at Boston or Silicon Valley.

With that idea in mind, Bonita Springs resident John Backe, through a nonprofit foundation he established, gave Florida Gulf Coast University $1 million in October 2009 to endow the Backe Chair in Renewable Energy.

Backe, the former president of CBS, is a partner with developer Rich Galvano in a 241-acre tract north of the university, which is permitted for 1.2 million square feet of commercial space. “Always in the back of my mind is if we got the right guy, he would be the spark plug,” says Backe.