Can we count on you to make the impossible possible? Join the many generous donors who support UCLA Anderson as it moves Into the Next.
By Paul Feinberg
“I am incredibly privileged and extraordinarily proud to announce a transformative new gift to the Into the Next campaign from Marion Anderson, a new gift of…one hundred million dollars.”
These words from UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian elicited first a collective gasp and then a rousing standing ovation from the nearly two hundred attendees of the school’s Into the Next campaign kickoff event. According to Dean Olian, this latest gift from the widow of the school’s namesake John E. Anderson will be used to build Anderson’s endowment, benefit student fellowships, research and programs, and to seed the construction of a new building to be named the Marion Anderson Building.
“This sets us on a path to realize our grandest ambitions, while remaining true to our values — and to the values of John and Marion — by reaching even further,” said Dean Olian. “Tonight, our sights are lifted and our ambitions are fortified. We are raising our goal for the Into the Next campaignto $300 million.” The original goal for the campaign, which is part of UCLA’s Centennial Campaign that concludes in 2019, was $175 million. To date, the Into the Next campaign has raised more than $183 million, including the latest from Marion Anderson.
Olian said the campaign will allow UCLA Anderson to create opportunities for more women and men who will become the future leaders of organizations and communities. It will bring to the world the most impactful ideas that will shape markets and management practices, and will continue to imbue the values of John and Marion into the entire Anderson family in all of its endeavors.
Tony Pritzker, managing partner and co-founder of the Pritzker Group and co-chair of the Centennial Campaign, offered opening remarks, welcoming everyone and noting that while the $4.2 billion goal of the Centennial Campaign is ambitious, it’s also “critically important because our goal is to ensure that UCLA continues on a path to being one of the preeminent, world-class universities. It is about retaining and attracting world-class faculty, admitting world-class students, and having world-class facilities.
“This institution is about transforming lives through education, path-breaking research and extraordinary public service,” Pritzker said. “I couldn’t be more excited about what’s been accomplished already here at UCLA Anderson and what it will accomplish.”
Bob Murley (’74), vice chairman and senior advisor to Credit Suisse, chairman of Investment Banking for the Americas, and new chairman of UCLA Anderson’s Board of Visitors, reminded guests that the evening served as a celebration of everyone’s relationship with UCLA and UCLA Anderson. “Gratitude and belief in the mission of an institution are powerful motivators,” said Murley. “I believe that people have touchstones in life. To my way of thinking, those touchstones include family, faith, career and causes that you feel passionately about. For me — and hopefully all of you — UCLA Anderson is a touchstone. (And) it is vitally important that we keep these opportunities available for future generations.”
Murley outlined the Into the Next priorities, citing student fellowships, faculty, research, innovative programming and a new physical structure to serve the needs of the school’s growing mission. He then recognized two lead gifts to the campaign, thanking Professors Don and Sherie Morrison, who have endowed the Morrison Family Center for Marketing Studies and Data Analytics at UCLA Anderson, and Board of Visitors members Jim and Phyllis Easton for endowing the Easton Center for Technology Management.
Following Murley, Into the Next co-chairs Donnalisa Barnum (’86) and Dennis Keegan (’80) introduced a pair of current Anderson students who spoke on behalf of all students whose Anderson experience has been impacted by their fellowships. Jess Kimball (’15) said she was “forever grateful” for her fellowships. “Hopefully, I will be able to pay forward the generosity I have received,” Kimball said. “Without Anderson, and without the fellowships I have received, I definitely would not be where I am today, and for that, I would like to offer a very sincere thank you.” After graduation, Kimball will be going to work full time for Mattel in Los Angeles while continuing to work toward her personal goal of becoming the “educational Robin Hood for college admissions and SAT prep.” Before attending Anderson, Kimball founded an educational company that assists students trying to get into college.
Brian Schoelkopf (’15) explained how the fellowship he received allowed him the freedom to explore greater, post-graduation opportunities. “Around the time I was making (a) critical summer internship decision, word came that I had been selected for a sizable second-year fellowship,” Schoelkopf said. “This news came as a breath of fresh air and altered my entire perspective as I made this decision. All of a sudden my future debt seemed less suffocating and that factor, which had been weighing on me heavily, faded into the background. In its place, the factors that were truly important (discovery, learning about new types of business and pursuing a career I truly felt passionate about) came to the surface.” Afforded the opportunity to reorder his priorities, he decided to pursue an internship at Amgen. “I had a wonderful experience while at Amgen over the summer, discovered that I was truly passionate about the life sciences and fascinated by science-based business.” Schoelkopf will be returning to Amgen for a full-time position in their finance and strategy rotational program.
Dean Olian proceeded to the podium, eloquently describing how John and Marion Anderson had “infused this school with their humbling values, inspired vision, and passion for causes that transform lives.”
“When we talk about the values of sharing success, thinking fearlessly and driving change, we are talking about the lives of John and Marion. Long before we distilled them as our values, John was thinking fearlessly and driving change…and sharing success. John sadly passed away in 2011. But the connections, the passionate engagement, the ambitious vision he had, didn’t stop there. They were picked up and amplified by Marion, who has become as staunch an advocate, as visionary a supporter, as wonderful a friend, as was John. And perhaps even more so. Tonight, John’s legacy and Marion’s vision are celebrated like never before. This is an historic moment for our school.”
It was then that Dean Olian made the announcement of Marion Anderson’s latest — and greatest gift — to UCLA Anderson.
“I salute the Anderson family, starting with an affectionate hug of John who is smiling down on us I am sure, and to the Anderson family here with us tonight, including John and Marion’s children: John Jr. and his wife Dori, Judy Munzig and Bill Anderson, Marion’s sister Gloria, and niece Rima and her family,” Dean Olian said. The dean then introduced Marion Anderson.
“John said many times over the years that he was ‘lucky’ to come to UCLA,” Anderson said. “The lessons he learned and the values he held, shaped a man who the world recognized as a business leader, but who many of you knew as a friend and a mentor. John didn’t just talk about these values; he lived them. Every day. And we both shared them. Over time, especially the last few years with Judy as dean, this school and university have become as special and important to me as it was to John.”
She then described how important it was to her and her husband to create opportunities for others.
“That is the ultimate measure of our lives. These buildings, computers, and endowments are meaningless if they don’t create opportunities for others,” she said. “What we begin here tonight might someday spark an idea in the mind of a young man or woman who didn’t think UCLA was an option for them. But through your ideas and generosity, UCLA will not only be an option, but also become a part of that person’s life as they embark on their own journey. As John would say: ‘It is simply doing the right thing.’ I couldn’t be more at peace or more confident supporting this wonderful school that makes us proud, that invests in the lives of young people who will lead the world to a better place.”
Read the UCLA Newsroom article
Visit UCLA Anderson’s Into the Next portal for news and information about the campaign
Comments