E Newsletter December 2007
Simon School Receives $5.4 Million in Major Gifts
Dean Mark Zupan announced five major gifts totaling $5.4 million that will help shape the future of the Simon Graduate School of Business.
Those gifts will help the Simon School to enhance faculty recruiting and retention, promote entrepreneurship education and offer more scholarships based on academic merit and financial need.
The five donors and their gifts are:
• The William E. Simon Foundation, $2 million for student scholarships based on outstanding academic and professional performance as well as positive impact on the world;
• Michael Rosen '83, $1.5 million for an endowed professorship in finance;
• Mark Ain '67, $1 million for increasing the number of students studying entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activities at Simon;
• Francis Price '75, $400,000 to the Simon School as part of a $1 million gift to the University for financial need-based aid to enhance diversity; and
• An anonymous donation for faculty support, $500,000.
“These wonderful alumni and friends of the Simon School have demonstrated their commitment to enhancing a world-class business school through a concrete investment in its future,” says University President Joel Seligman. “The University is grateful for gifts such as these which are a powerful example of thoughtful and generous support.”
“We are deeply grateful to the alumni and friends who are enabling us to achieve several of the key goals in our strategic plan for the Simon School,” says Simon School Dean Mark Zupan. “The Simon Foundation's renewed commitment of $2 million will allow us to offer more scholarships to our best and brightest M.B.A. students in the spirit of our generous namesake and benefactor, the late U.S. Treasury Secretary William E. Simon. Michael Rosen's gift will enable us to establish an endowed professorship in finance—one of our core academic disciplines. Mark Ain's support will help us to attract more students with an interest in entrepreneurship and to provide more activities focused on this growing field. Through the generosity of Francis Price, we will be able to offer more scholarships to students in need, and our anonymous gift will enable us to provide more support for faculty research and professional enrichment.”
About the Donors Based in New York City, the Simon Foundation supports programs that are intended to strengthen the free enterprise system and the spiritual values on which it rests: individual freedom, initiative, thrift, self-discipline and faith in God. “The William E. Simon Foundation is proud to support the excellence in business education available at the University of Rochester,” says J. Peter Simon, co-chair of William E. Simon & Sons, the private investment firm founded by his late father, co-chair of the Simon Foundation, and chair of the Simon School Executive Advisory Committee. “The Early Leaders program is an exciting opportunity for the School to attract superlative candidates, and we are pleased to support the attraction of such top students to Simon through scholarships.” Michael Rosen is C.E.O. of Context Capital Management L.L.C. in San Diego, Calif., an investment company he founded in 2001, and a University of Rochester trustee. “Our gift of an endowed professorship in finance is significant because it will allow the Simon School to continue the tradition of a world-class faculty,” Rosen says. “Currently, Simon is rated as No. 5 in the world in finance according to the Financial Times of London. The finance market is extremely competitive for the superstars that Simon has a history of attracting. This is a way my wife and I can give back to the School that will enable future generations of students to benefit from the top-notch faculty who provide the top-quality education that I enjoyed at Simon.” Mark Ain is founder of Kronos Incorporated, the Chelmsford, Mass.-based market leader in the workforce management industry. Kronos was second only to Microsoft for record growth and profitability on the 2005 Sustained Success Honor Roll. Ain is a member of the University of Rochester Board of Trustees and the Simon School Executive Advisory Committee, and he supports the Simon School's Mark Ain Business Model Competition, an annual event. “My two years in Rochester earning my M.B.A. launched my entrepreneurial career,” Ain says. “I am forever grateful to the University of Rochester. Because of my interest in fostering entrepreneurs and the current economic conditions in Rochester, I thought that my donation would be an appropriate gift back to the University and the City.” Francis Price, who earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester and an M.B.A. from Simon, is president and C.E.O. of Interact Performance Systems Inc. of Anaheim, Calif., and president and C.E.O. of Q3 Industries Inc. of Columbus, Ohio. He is a University trustee and was recently awarded the David T. Kearns Medal of Distinction during Simon School Commencement ceremonies, which recognizes “significant achievement in business, public service and education.” “My Simon experience was one of the best things I ever did for myself and my career,” Price says. “I see a tremendous need, particularly within the African-American population, for further education to build our society and community. I am happy to support others who would also like to take advantage of a Simon School education.”
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The Simon School prides itself as the place Where Thinkers Become Leaders™ and is currently ranked among the leading graduate business schools in the world in rankings published by the popular press, including BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Forbes. For example, the Financial Times recently rated the School 4th in the world for managerial economics and 5th in the world for both accounting and finance. More information about the Simon School is available on the World Wide Web at www.simon.rochester.edu.
December 2007
