Leon Falk, Jr. (September 23, 1901 – June 9, 1988) was a steel company executive and philanthropist in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Falk was involved in the founding of several arts and cultural institutions in the Pittsburgh area, notably the University of Pittsburgh's Falk Clinic, Falk Laboratory School, the Pittsburgh Playhouse, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and the Chancellor's Residence for the University of Pittsburgh. Early life Falk was born September 23, 1901 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Leon Falk (1869-1928) and Fanny Edel Falk (1879-1910). He attended Philips Exeter Academy from 1918 to 1920. He graduated from Yale University, the Sheffield Scientific School in 1924. He was a member of the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. Career Business life Falk went to work for Weirton Steel in 1926 and soon was named treasurer. He was chairman of the board from 1948 to 1952 and later became executive director of National Steel's executive committee. Invested with Richard King Mellon in one of the key projects in Pittsburgh's first Renaissance, Chatham Center, the "City Within a City". When it opened, the 5.5-acre, $26 million Chatham Center included an eight-story office building, a Howard Johnson motor lodge, a residential building, a six-level parking structure and a 660-seat movie theater. It was part of the Lower Hill redevelopment area where 1,300 buildings were demolished in the late 1950s and early 1960s to make way for the Civic Arena. Philanthropy and Culture In 1926 Falk bought what would become the family farm, Falkland Farms, at Schellsburg, Pennsylvania. He won national honors breeding jersey cows and purebred Polled Hereford cattle. He was a director of the Polled Hereford Association from 1967 to 1971 and was inducted into the association's Hall of Fame in 1975. In December 1929, he and his uncle, Maurice Falk established the Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation, commonly known as the Falk Foundation, a $10 million trust fund established “for human welfare.” The foundation focused on contributing to economic research, and philanthropic work in the Pittsburgh community, particularly through the creation and early support of the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Although planned to exist until 1967, the Falk Foundation continued until 2013, when its largest and final grant went to Chatham University's School of Sustainability & the Environment for the completion of the Eden Hall Campus. The grant was also the largest grant in the history of Chatham University. Chatham's School of Sustainability & the Environment