Duke’s financial aid endowment got a $20 million boost from alumnus William Gross, Trinity ’66, and his wife Sue, President Richard Brodhead announced Wednesday.
The Gross gift—which matches one donated by Bill and Melissa Gates in 1998 as the largest from individuals for scholarship development at Duke—will provide aid for students who demonstrate both academic excellence and significant financial need. $15 million of the gift will fund scholarships for undergraduates, and $5 million will assist students in the School of Medicine.
Brodhead said he was “elated” about the gift, noting that it provides substantial, long-term support for the University’s need-blind admissions policy, to which he has reiterated his commitment since taking office as Duke’s ninth president in July.
“I’ve been talking about the need for endowment for financial aid and our obligation to keep the University open to all without regard to their ability to pay, and this gift will support these goals for generations yet to come,” Brodhead said. “Many people are going to want to give gifts for financial aid... [and] they will all be very welcome, but a gift of this size takes us a giant step forward.”
An additional $3.5 million, separate from the financial aid gift, will go to faculty development and support in the Fuqua School of Business.
Gross, the chief financial officer and founder of Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (PIMCO), one of the world’s leading bond management firms, said Wednesday’s gift was a “logical extension, though on a grander scale,” of his and his wife’s philanthropic commitment to education initiatives. But he added that receiving the Angier B. Duke Scholarship—one of the University’s most prestigious undergraduate merit-based awards—also inspired him to augment Duke’s financial aid endowment.
“I wouldn’t have gone to Duke without that scholarship,” he said, noting that he has kept his scholarship medal in his library since he graduated nearly four decades ago. “This particular gift is being structured in just that fashion, so that other kids can say that same thing 42 years from now.”
Brodhead applauded Gross for giving back to his alma mater “on a very great scale of generosity.”
“He came here on a scholarship, and [the Grosses] have a very serious commitment to financial aid and a personal understanding of what it makes possible,” Brodhead said. “I love it when people later in life remember what helped them and make it their business to help to others who come after them.”
Beginning in Fall 2005, the Gross gift will fund three new endowments. The William and Sue Gross Honorary Undergraduate Scholarships will be awarded to academically gifted students whose family income falls below the median of students who received financial aid the year before. About 20 students will receive the awards once they are fully funded.
The School of Medicine will award scholarships in the Grosses’ name to students in need who are pursuing either an M.D. or joint M.D.-Ph.D. degree. These scholarships may range from partial to full tuition.
The William and Sue Gross Distinguished Research Scholars program in Fuqua will help attract and support esteemed faculty—mostly rising full professors. Each scholar will also join the Fuqua Society of Fellows, a forum that meets for discussion and research in business management. Gross said his career in business was the impetus for donating to Fuqua, and he hopes the gift will help the school earn a top-five ranking.
A native of Middletown, Ohio, Gross served in the U.S. Navy before receiving his MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles and founding PIMCO. His daughter, Jennifer, graduated from Duke in 1997. The Gross gift is the largest award donated by individuals that the University has received since Peter and Ginny Nicholas gave $72 million to the Campaign for Duke in January 2004.
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