Penn receives $20 million gift

The University received a $20 million gift for faculty support from George Weiss — Penn alumnus, trustee and chair of the Making History Campaign — according to Penn President Amy Gutmann.

The gift will endow four Penn Integrates Knowledge professorships, at $5 million each. Like the 10 current PIK professors, the four new professors will hold joint appointments in two schools.

Weiss explained why he specifically chose to endow professorships.

“PIK professors are just so stimulating ... and a great way to catapult Penn’s faculty into eminence,” he said.

He added that he is “incredibly excited about the gift. I’m the one who feels blessed by giving.”

Weiss’ total giving to the University now exceeds $80 million, including nearly $50 million to the Making History campaign.

With this commitment, the Making History campaign has raised 75 percent of its $3.5 billion goal. Penn aims to raise $623 million for faculty support — $386 million of which has now been raised.

The gift makes Weiss among the top five donors to the campaign and one of the top five lifetime donors to the University, according to Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations John Zeller.

“These are two remarkable achievements,” Zeller noted.

Weiss said his most recent gift allows the University a “great opportunity to hire amazing faculty.”

Karen Glanz, who has a shared appointment between the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing, said she is honored to be the first George A. Weiss University Professor.

“[Weiss] has a remarkable record of giving to Penn,” she said. “I hope my work and values will back that.”

Weiss cited peer institutions’ “severe financial problems” as an additional reason for the timing of the gift, explaining that the donation gives Penn the chance to hire even more extraordinary professors.

“When you look at it as a donor, when peers are hurting, we have a change to hire more of the best. It’s a once in a century opportunity,” he said.

His generosity funded the Weiss Tech House, the Weiss Center for International Financial Research at Wharton and the soon-to-be-opened Weiss Pavilion.

Weiss has been a trustee since 1988 and is vice chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board.

He is the president of George Weiss Associates Inc., a money-management firm with offices in Hartford, Conn., and New York, according to a University press release.

Previously, he has served on the Alumni Committee on Athletics, the Penn Alumni Board of Directors, the Jeff Davis Association and the Alumni Club’s Advisory Council.

In 1985, he received the Alumni Award of Merit — Penn’s highest alumni honor.

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