Ric Weiland

Richard W. "Ric" Weiland (April 21, 1953 – June 24, 2006) was a computer software pioneer, programmer and philanthropist. He was one of the first five employees of Microsoft Corporation.

Early life

Weiland was a high school classmate and friend of Paul Allen, with whom he created the Lakeside Programmers Group at Lakeside School, a preparatory school in Seattle, Washington, USA. Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Kent Evans, and Weiland were involved with the Computer Center Corporation, using their PDP-10. They worked together to create a payroll program in COBOL for Portland company Information Sciences Inc., and wrote scheduling software for a school.[1]

Microsoft

After he graduated from Stanford University, Allen and Gates hired him in 1975, the same year they founded Microsoft in Albuquerque. As one of only five employees, Weiland was a lead programmer and developer for the company's BASIC and COBOL language systems.

After a stint at Harvard Business School, he rejoined Microsoft in 1982 and became the project leader for Microsoft Works. He left Microsoft in 1988 and dedicated most of his time to philanthropy. He was described by Allen as a "brilliant programmer" and a key contributor to the company's success.

Philanthropy

Weiland was a donor to organizations such as the Pride Foundation, the Lifelong AIDS Alliance, United Way of King County, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Stanford University, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, AMFAR, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Audubon Society. He was influential as an active member of the Northwest gay community. A member of the Pride Foundation's board of directors from 1997 to 2001, he helped win the fight to get General Electric to include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy.

A supporter of his alma mater, he established the Weiland Family Stanford Graduate Fellowship and endowed the Martha Meier Weiland professorship at the Stanford University School of Medicine.[2]

Weiland also was a quiet but key second round investor in gay online media company PlanetOut Corp. His investment helped the company survive the dot com crash of 2000. PlanetOut was acquired by Online Partners in 2001 and is now called PlanetOut Inc.

It was once estimated that during his life he had contributed $30 million to over 50 organizations. He was known not to seek publicity for his philanthropy.

On February 24, 2008, Pride Foundation announced that Ric had bequeathed $65 million to support gay rights and HIV/AIDS organizations—the largest ever single bequest for LGBT community. Through his estate, Weiland established a fund at the Pride Foundation that will provide $46 million over the next eight years to 10 national LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations that he personally selected and $19 million directly to Pride Foundation for their scholarships and grants supporting the Northwest's LGBT community.

Death

The King County Medical Examiner's Office said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on June 24, 2006. He was reported to have suffered from clinical depression. "...Survivors include his partner, Mike Schaefer." Also survived by 2 nieces and two nephews in Oregon and Washington.[3]

On February 24, 2008, Pride Foundation announced that the estate had left $65 million to gay rights and HIV/AIDS organizations. The $65 million is among bequests totaling about $160 million—the bulk of Weiland's estate—to various charities and Stanford University, his undergraduate alma mater, according to an estimate provided by the Pride Foundation.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Petersen, Julie K (2002). The Telecommunications Illustrated Dictionary. CRC Press. p. 563. ISBN 978-0-8493-1173-4.
  2. ↑ "Cohen, Yock named to new professorships". Stanford Report. August 9, 2000.
  3. ↑ "$65 million bequeathed to gay rights, AIDS fight". PlanetOut. February 25, 2008. Archived from the original on February 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Ex-Microsoft worker leaves $65 mil to gay rights, AIDS groups". CNN. February 24, 2008. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008.

External links

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