Buss was the recipient of the UW College of Arts and Sciences Exemplary Alumni award in 1993 and is a life member of the UW Alumni Association.
In 1992, Buss donated the leading gift to help establish the annual Sara Jane Rhoads and Rebecca Raulins Lecture Series in Organic Chemistry to honor his former UW chemistry professors.
Hometown:
Kemmerer, Wyoming
College:
Arts and Sciences
Degree:
B.S. Chemistry
Jerry Buss is currently the chairman and majority owner of the Los
Angeles Lakers, which he purchased in 1979. Under Buss's ownership, the
Lakers have won eight NBA championships, with players such as Kobe
Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Magic Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Buss's business accomplishments include being former partner of the
Mariani-Buss Associates real estate company and co-founder of Prime
Time, now known as Fox Sports. He previously owned such sports teams as
the Los Angeles Kings (ice hockey), the Blades (roller hockey), the
Strings (tennis team), and the Lazers (indoor soccer).
Before making his fortune in real estate, Buss was a chemist for the
Bureau of Mines and was on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at
the University of Southern California. He received an M.S. and Ph.D.
(1957) in chemistry from the University of Southern California.
In 2006, Buss was honored with a television star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work as a sports television producer.
Photos courtesy of UW News Service
