UC to Bestow Highest Honor to Carl H. Lindner III

The University of Cincinnati will bestow its highest award, an honorary doctorate, to renowned philanthropist and businessman Carl H. Lindner III during the university’s

spring Commencement ceremonies

. 

Lindner, who served on UC’s board of trustees from 2013 to 2015, will receive an Honorary Doctor of Commercial Science degree at the ceremony set for 9 a.m., Saturday, April 30, in Fifth Third Arena.  

The UC alumnus – Lindner earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UC in 1975 – is co-chairman and co-CEO of the American Financial Group along with his brother, S. Craig Lindner, who is also receiving an honorary doctorate during the same ceremony.  

Lindner also serves as chairman and CEO of AFG’s insurance division, the Great American Insurance Company.

Lindner's  family is well known for its charitable largesse, and he and his wife Martha are committed philanthropists with a passion for educational causes.

In 1988, the couple led efforts to found Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, a private, non-denominational Christian school serving grades K-12. The school has since grown to become one of the largest of its kind in the country, with an annual enrollment of nearly 1,400 across four campuses.    

Twelve years later, with help from Lindner’s brother, Keith, and his father, Carl Lindner Jr., the Lindners established the Otto Armleder Memorial Education Center, a private Christian elementary school serving economically disadvantaged children in downtown Cincinnati. The school, which serves grades K-6, has since become a national model of excellence in urban education.  

Carl and Martha Lindner next turned their goodwill to higher education, leading efforts to establish the Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business. The center, which launched in 2012, was the first of its kind in Ohio to combine academic programs, research and executive-level industry education and outreach.  

The initiative was made possible by a $5 million combined endowment, including $4 million from the Lindners through The Psalms Foundation and $1 million support from Great American Insurance Company.

Lindner is majority owner and CEO of FC Cincinnati, a United Soccer League club in Cincinnati. He is also a member of the Alfalfa Club, one of the most prestigious organizations in Washington D.C.; current president of The Commercial Club in Cincinnati; and one of the founding elders of Horizon Community Church.

Lindner served for two years on UC’s Board of Trustees. He also served a seven-year term on the board of trustees of The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, to which he was appointed in 2008 by then-President George W. Bush.

The Lindners reside in Cincinnati. The couple have four children and three grandchildren.