Henry W. Bloch donated $32 million to the UMKC business school, which carries his name. Photo from umkc.edu.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City business school on Thursday officially announced a $32 million gift, the largest in its history, with an apparent eye toward innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Henry W. Bloch, the co-founder of H&R Block and the namesake of UMKC’s Bloch School, donated the $32 million. It will help fund an expansion, which will be called the Henry W. Bloch Executive Hall for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and will house the school’s graduate and executive programs, that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.

“We researched top innovative workspaces across the country, such as Google, Proctor and Gamble, IDEO and various design schools for ideas on how to create a one-of-a-kind space,” Teng-Kee Tan, dean of the Bloch School.

Per an article in today’s Kansas City Star, the donation coincides with the announcement that the UMKC undergraduate and graduate business programs rank among the country’s best — 14th and 21st, respectively — the Princeton Review’s 2011 rankings.

It also coincides with the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce‘s announcement on Tuesday that “the making of America’s most entrepreneurial city” is one of its “Big 5” ideas for the Kansas City area. As part of its effort to boost Kansas City’s profile as a hotbed for entrepreneurship, the Chamber said it intends to leverage existing entrepreneurial entities like The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Bloch School. Now, with the Bloch School, there will considerably more abundant resources to be leveraged. 

The desire expressed by the Chamber was echoed by politicans and influencers on hand for Thursday’s announcement. Again, from the Star: 

As city and state officials took to the stage to thank Bloch, each talked about the school’s role in positioning Kansas City at the epicenter of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Midwest and eventually the country.

Gov. Jay Nixon called the new addition — and the Bloch School’s mission to be the envy of business schools around the country — “a virtual link between Missouri’s legacy of entrepreneurship and UMKC.”

“It guarantees that the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators will dream and learn and grow right here at UMKC,” he said.

Said Bloch of his donation: “I chose to make this significant gift because now is the right time. I stand behind the Chancellor and Dean Tan’s purposeful vision for the Bloch School and have already seen them execute successful strategic initiatives that will propel the school toward national and international renown. The new mission and vision of the School both respect and directly tie into the legacy of Kansas City and align with what this community wants and needs from its business school.”

For more on Bloch’s donation, check out these stories from other outlets:

• UMKC Office of Public Relations: “$32 million gift supports Bloch building“
• Kansas City Business Journal: “Bloch pledges $32M to UMKC business school“
• Kansas City Star: “Henry Bloch gives $32 million for addition to UMKC business school“