Warren V. “Pete” Musser, 92, DPS ’99, businessman, philanthropist, benefactor and long-time friend of the Fox School of Business passed away on Monday morning. Musser was a legendary investor in the technology and financial industries, an entrepreneur and a community leader for more than 60 years.

Musser will be remembered as a luminary in the city’s entrepreneurial history .“Pete Musser was a great man and a great example to our students,” says Ronald Anderson, dean of the Fox School of Business and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. “We are deeply saddened by his loss. Pete believed in building a community through business, particularly small businesses that eventually blossom, such as Comcast. As a philanthropist, he believed in business education. Throughout his professional life and in his contributions to the Fox School, among other institutions, Pete recognized the value of investing in others.”

In 1953, Musser founded a company that would eventually become Safeguard Scientifics, a securities investment firm. Through Safeguard, Musser helped fund the startup of QVC, Comcast and Novell, among other Fortune 500 companies. His first breakthrough was a check-writing machine in 1955, but among his biggest successes were seed-funding Comcast and QVC.

At the Fox School, Musser sought to help others get their start. He funded an endowed visiting professorship in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Musser was the inaugural recipient of the annual Musser Excellence in Leadership Award, which was established and endowed in honor of his achievements and his entrepreneurial spirit. Dick Vermeil, former head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and recipient of the 2019 award, called him a “great, great man and true friend.”

Earlier this year, Musser was named to the school’s Centennial Honorees list, a celebration of the school’s most influential contributors during its first 100 years. He received an honorary Doctor of Professional Studies in 1999.

He was heavily involved in the Temple University-based Safeguard Scientifics Center for Economic Education, which focuses on business, economic and entrepreneurial education to K-12 teachers and students throughout the region and the state.

“I believe Pete would take great satisfaction that many of the people and families that he invested in, will thrive for years to come,” says Anderson.