Michigan State University has announced a $25 million challenge grant from philanthropist and MSU alumnus Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, to the Eli Broad College of Business, bringing the couple’s total giving to MSU to nearly $100 million.
“We are pleased to deepen our support of MSU’s business college and, by offering a challenge grant, we hope others will step up and recognize the opportunity to educate the next generation of business leaders at a world-class university,” said Eli Broad.
The gift will jump-start the $1.5 billion Empower Extraordinary, the Campaign for Michigan State University announced earlier today.
The college intends to leverage the Broads’ gift to raise another $80 million through matching gifts from other donors, for a total investment of $105 million, to expand the nationally recognized Broad MBA and graduate programs.
“Eli and Edythe Broad’s commitment to Michigan State University is extraordinary and will have a lasting impact,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “This latest gift entrusts us with significant resources to build and grow the quality and reputation of the Eli Broad College of Business, which will help ensure our students and faculty have the tools to make a difference in business and society.”
A major goal is to construct a $60 million graduate pavilion to house the MBA and professional graduate programs of the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management. The facility will provide the collaborative learning spaces and the latest technology needed to launch groundbreaking initiatives in education, said Sanjay Gupta, acting dean and Russell E. Palmer Endowed Professor in Accounting.
Through focus groups and feedback from students who chose to attend other business schools, the college has learned that state-of-the-art facilities are essential to continue to attract top students.
In the latest rankings by U.S. News & World Report, Businessweek, Forbes and the Financial Times, the Broad College’s full-time MBA program was ranked among the nation’s top 15 public programs.
“The investment of the Broad challenge gift and the additional gifts it will leverage are crucial for the continued improvement of the college in a very competitive environment,” Gupta said. “More importantly it will allow us to aggressively innovate and evolve our graduate programs.”
The college plans to invest $25 million of the funds raised into several scholarship endowments, which will help recruit students with unique perspectives and diverse backgrounds.
The campaign also will support a leadership talent fund to recruit executives in residence, distinguished speakers and thought leaders, as well as funding for experiential learning opportunities for students and the continued development of innovative curriculum.
Eli and Edythe Broad both attended Detroit Public Schools and married in 1954, the year Eli graduated cum laude from MSU. He went on to build two Fortune 500 companies, KB Home and SunAmerica. Edythe was named an Honorary Alumna of MSU in 2007.
Co-founders of the The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Broads’ $20 million gift in 1991 to the Eli Broad College of Business and the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management – both renamed in his honor – was the largest gift ever received by a public business school at that time.
In 2003, the Broads helped develop a new generation of urban school teachers with a gift to establish the Broad Partnership between MSU and Detroit Public Schools. More recently, the Broad’s commitment to build a world-class art museum at MSU led to the Zaha Hadid-designed facility on MSU's campus.
Throughout the years, the Broads have continued to add to their original gift to the business college.
“MSU’s MBA program needs to not only keep pace but also lead the field of graduate business programs in preparing students for today’s management challenges,” Eli Broad said. “By providing state-of-the-art facilities and deepening recruitment efforts to attract top faculty and students, MSU will continue to equip students with the real-world skills to succeed at the highest levels of business and compete internationally.”
This latest commitment brings the total gifts to MSU from the Broads and their related foundation to more than $98.4 million.