Dwight Schar is an American businessman and philanthropist

Philanthropist

A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

. He is the founder of NVR, Inc.

NVR, Inc.

NVR, Inc. is a United States real estate development company. The homebuilding unit sells and constructs homes under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes, Rymarc Homes and Fox Ridge Homes trade names.-Homebuilding:Ryan Homes...

, a Fortune 500 company that is the third-largest home builder (by revenue) in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He currently serves as the company's Executive Chairman and Chairman of Executive Committee. He is also a part-owner of the Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

 football team, and the former Finance Chairman for the Republican National Committee

Republican National Committee

The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...

. Schar is also a managing partner with Dan Snyder at Red Zone Capital, which owns Dick Clark Productions, Johnny Rockets Restaurant and Red Zebra Radio Stations. He lives in McLean

McLean, Virginia

McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 and Palm Beach, FL.

Background

Dwight Schar grew up in rural northeast Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 and graduated from Norwayne High School

Norwayne High School

Norwayne High School is a public high school in Creston, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Norwayne Local School District, which also consists of a middle school in Creston, and one elementary school in Creston . Their mascot is the Bobcat. The name 'Norwayne' is derived from its location...

 in 1960. He then attended Ashland University

Ashland University

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private, non-profit university that is located in Ashland, Ohio.The University offers 73 undergraduate majors and nine pre-professional programs. The majors include toxicology/environmental science and entrepreneurship, which are unusual for an institution of its...

 (then Ashland College) in Ashland, Ohio

Ashland, Ohio

Ashland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Ashland County. The population was 21,249 at the 2000 census. It is the center of the Ashland Micropolitan Statistical Area...

, where he majored in education. After graduating from Ashland in 1964, Dwight began teaching, and on the weekends, he had a job selling homes. Schar soon left teaching to pursue a career in home building. In 1980, Schar founded his own company, NVHomes, which eventually acquired his former employer, Ryan Homes, in 1987; the company was thus renamed NVR. Today, NVR is the corporate umbrella under which NVHomes, Ryan Homes, Fox Ridge Homes, Rymarc Homes, and NVR Mortgage operate.

Political Involvement

Along with his involvement in the Republican National Committee, Schar is also a well-known financial supporter of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and numerous Republican candidates, making contributions through his company as well as private contributions from both his McLean, VA home and his home in Palm Beach, FL. In both the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns, Schar was not only a donor, but also a major fundraiser. In the 2000 campaign, Schar was a Bush “pioneer

Bush Pioneer

Bush Pioneers are people who gathered $100,000 for George W. Bush's 2000 or 2004 presidential campaign. Two new levels, Bush Rangers and Super Rangers, were bestowed upon supporters who gathered $200,000+ or $300,000+, respectively, for the 2004 campaign, after the 2002 McCain–Feingold campaign...

,” the distinction given to those committed to raising $100,000 or more for the campaign. In the 2004 re-election campaign, Schar rose to the new level of “Ranger,” raising $200,000 or more.

Philanthrophy

In 2004, Schar donated $200,000 to Norwayne High School, his former high school in Creston, OH to go toward the construction of a new track, football stadium, and scoreboard. The school named the new track the "Dwight Schar Track" in his honor. In 2006, he donated $5 million to his alma mater, Ashland University, to help fund the construction of their new education building. The university named the new building "Dwight Schar College of Education" in his honor. In 2009 Schar again made a $7 million donation towards the new Ashland University on-campus football, track & field and Soccer facilities, named appropriately "Dwight Schar Athletic Complex". Then most recently he gave another $5 million to his alma mater for the purchase of Med Central College of Nursing, which is now known as The Dwight Schar College of Nursing. In 2011 he once again donated at least another $800,000 to his high school, Norwayne High School, to update the auditorium, putting in the latest lighting and sound technologies. The remainder of that money went on to update the band, art rooms, as well as an education and learning center for existing students and continuing education students linked to local universities. The auditorium was then renamed the Dwight Schar Performing Arts Center, in his honor. He has also made seven figure donations to George Mason University, INOVA Fairfax Hospital, Child Helps, Youth for Tomorrow and the George W. Bush Presidential Library. Other major gifts have been made to Rosarian Academy and Royal Poinciana Chapel.