Robert Herbold, former chief operating officer at Microsoft and a heavy hitter in business and politics, has donated $1.5 million to bolster the University of Washington Business School's entrepreneurship and innovation efforts.

One-third of the gift, announced today, will create the Robert J. Herbold Professor of Entrepreneurship chair. The rest will fund the Robert J. Herbold Venture Creation Lab within the school's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The lab will provide students with space and resources to analyze and develop business plans around UW technology.

Herbold was Microsoft's COO from 1994 to 2001. He is currently managing partner of his own consulting firm. His name was floated in 2003 as a possible Republican candidate for governor. Both he and his wife, Patricia Herbold, ambassador to Singapore, are major fund-raisers for the Republican party.