Harvard University received a $22 million gift from 52-year-old leveraged buyout specialist and Harvard alumnus Thomas Lee of Boston, officials announced Monday. The gift will be distributed to various university programs as Harvard President Neil Rudenstine and Dean of the Faculty Jeremy Knowles see fit. Of the $22 million Lee donated, only $3 million were earmarked for specific purposes. Lee, a graduate of the Harvard Class of 1965, said he decided to give Harvard such flexibility in using the funds due in large part to a suggestion from Penn President Judith Rodin. "Giving flexibility to an administration is very important, especially if you support that administration," Lee said. Lee -- citing Ronald Perelman's $22 million donation to Penn in 1995 -- added that the number of large gifts that Penn and other Ivy League universities have received are an " inspiration for other people to give donations." "I think it's tremendously critical to donate money to education if you have the money," he said. "I couldn't emphasize it enough." Of the $3 million Lee did allocate, $1 million will go to the Harvard Graduate School of Education; $500,000 each to the American Repertory Theatre and the Fogg Art Museum; and $500,000 each to two medical institutions affiliated with Harvard -- Beth Israel Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Knowles will allocate $4 million to a scholarship fund Lee had set up in 1984 and $5.5 million to programs in Harvard's life sciences, Lee said. Rudenstine has not specified how the university will use the remaining $9.5 million. Harvard spokesperson Alex Huppe -- noting that most donations are fairly restricted in purpose -- said Lee's contribution is exceptional in both monetary value and flexibility. "We're extremely and deeply grateful to Tom Lee for his generosity and creativity in meeting our educational needs," Huppe said. "He's understood what a relatively unrestricted gift means to meeting the needs of a modern university." Lee's gift is part of a five-year $2.1 billion capital campaign which began at Harvard in May 1994. The university surpassed the $1.1 billion mark this spring, Huppe said. While Lee's donation is not one of the largest in Harvard's history, it has broken several university records, according to Development Officer Laura Smith. In addition to being the largest gift from anyone in Lee's generation, it is also the largest gift from a Bostonian and the largest donation of non-discretionary funds. The largest donation in Harvard's history was from John and Frances Loeb in 1995 for $70.5 million. Penn Trustee Emeritus and philanthropist Walter Annenberg's twin $120 million donations in 1993 to Penn and the University of Southern California are the second largest donations in higher education -- behind a $125 million donation historian Sir Harold Acton gave to New York University in 1994.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
