Aug. 9, 2006--John L. Weinberg of Greenwich, Conn., former senior partner and chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and an important University of Delaware benefactor whose foundation endowed the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, died Monday, Aug. 7, at the age of 81.

In addition to endowing the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, Mr. Weinberg was instrumental in establishing the Edgar S. Woolard Jr. Chair in Corporate Governance at UD. The chair is held by Charles Elson, who also directs the internationally renowned Center.

“John L. Weinberg was one of the most significant figures in American finance of the last few decades,” Elson said. “He was a special supporter of the University and its governance center both financially and, more importantly, through his wise guidance and strong interest. He was one of the great gentlemen of Wall Street and a great friend to the University, and he will be missed.”

The center was founded to propose sensible and progressive changes in corporate structure and management through education and interaction. It provides a forum for business leaders, members of corporate boards, corporate legal scholars and practitioners, jurists economists, graduate and undergraduate students and others interested in corporate governance issues to meet, to interact, to learn and to teach.

In announcing the Weinberg Foundation gift in 2002, UD President David P. Roselle said, “John Weinberg has had a distinguished business career, and he does great honor to the University of Delaware by allowing us to associate his name with the Center for Corporate Governance.”

At Goldman Sachs, Mr. Weinberg served as a member of the board of directors, senior chairman of the firm, senior partner and chairman of the management committee and senior partner and co-chairman. He joined the firm in 1950 and worked for his father, Sidney J. Weinberg, in corporate finance. He was made a partner in 1956.

During more than 50 years with Goldman Sachs, Mr. Weinberg was responsible for forging some of its most important client relationships and for providing the leadership needed for growth in a complex and competitive marketplace.

He served as a director of the DeWitt Wallace Fund for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Knight Ridder and YUM! Brands Inc. He served on the board of directors of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. from 1986-95 and was a trustee of New York-Presbyterian Hospital and trustee emeritus of Princeton University.

A 1948 graduate of Princeton University, Mr. Weinberg received his M.B.A. from Harvard University in 1950. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, served in World War II and was promoted to captain during the Korean War.

Mr. Weinberg is survived by his wife Sue Ann, his son John, his daughter Jean Weinberg Rose, and five grandchildren.