Wharton gets record-setting $40m. donation

Alumnus Jon Huntsman Sr. gave the largest-ever gift to a business school, with no strings attached. Wharton alumnus Jon Huntsman Sr., a philanthropist who made his fortune in part from the plastic foam in fast-food clamshells, has pledged $40 million to his alma mater with no strings attached, Wharton officials announced Tuesday. The gift is the largest single donation ever received by a business school and contributes to a record-breaking fundraising year at Wharton. The school has raised more than $100 million in donations over the last 12 months -- $35 million more than its fiscal year 1998 goal. Penn Vice President for Development Virginia Clark noted that it was "unusual" for the donor of such a substantial gift to place the money under the jurisdiction of administrators. But Huntsman, 60, said he felt "uncomfortable" designating specific uses for the donation, adding that officials are better versed in the financial issues confronting the school. Huntsman's only specification was that the gift be used to advance the school's overarching "strategic priorities," University Board of Trustees Chairperson Roy Vagelos said. The new 300,000-square-foot Wharton building -- set to occupy the current Book Store site at 38th Street and Locust Walk -- has already been pegged as a priority. With a $100 million price tag, and construction on the building scheduled to begin this fall, the Huntsman gift may have come at just the right time. Last month, Taiwanese businessman Chen Fu Koo and his two sons, Chester and Leslie Koo, pledged $10 million to fund planning and construction of the building. Wharton Dean Thomas Gerrity and University President Judith Rodin will consider how the school will spend the Huntsman gift over the next couple of months, Wharton Vice Dean of Executive Education and External Affairs Robert Mittelstaedt noted. Funneling the money into the building is a possibility, he said. Wharton spokesperson Chris Hardwick added that the donation was a "pure gift," noting that there was no stipulation that whatever the gift is used for bear Huntsman's name. Huntsman, who earned an undergraduate degree from Wharton in 1959, is the founder, chairperson and chief executive officer of Huntsman Corp., the largest privately held chemical company in the United States. And he is no stranger to Wharton's Development Office. Last January, the entrepreneur donated $10 million to endow a joint international studies and business degree program between Wharton and the School of Arts and Sciences. The program -- the first of its kind in the country -- combines international studies, foreign language and business education. Huntsman also made a $4.4 million gift in 1993 while co-chairperson of the Campaign for Penn, the University's five-year fundraising effort. And in 1989, he established the Huntsman Center for Global Competition and Leadership, a Wharton research program. Huntsman, who lives in Salt Lake City, has also donated $100 million to establish the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah. "The Huntsman family is truly one of the great 'Penn' families," Rodin said in a statement Tuesday. Huntsman currently holds a position on Wharton's Board of Overseers and served as a University Trustee from 1987 to 1994. His son, Jon Huntsman Jr., is a current Trustee. Huntsman, who came to Penn from his native rural Idaho in the late 1950s, said that his time at the University "set the stage for every moment" in his life. After leaving Penn, Huntsman revolutionized the fast-food industry by adapting polysterene products for the now-familiar clamshell containers that used to house Big Macs and Whoppers. Until the Huntsman gift, the University of Southern California boasted the largest single business school donation, a $35 million gift.

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