Ask any recruiter in pursuit of the best business minds, and they’ll tell you that the distinguishing mark of the Wharton graduate is a drive to make things happen. “When our students walk out of here, they hit the ground running,” says Dean Patrick Harker. “They have the fundamentals – and they also know what it takes to get things done.”
It’s no surprise then that it’s Wharton’s graduates who keep the Campaign for Sustained Leadership on schedule. Now out of the quiet phase, in which the School raised $280 million, the Campaign is open, public and moving steadily toward its $425 million goal (increased from the original target of $350 million), thanks to generous alumni, volunteers and friends.
To achieve Campaign success, every gift is critical. But who cultivates the major gifts that allow the School to leap toward the goal? Much of that is the work of the Leadership Gifts Committee, which focuses on alumni who can contribute in the $250,000 to $2 million range. Led by David B. Ford, WG’70, and Marc J. Rowan, W’84, WG’85, the ten members of the Leadership Gifts Committee are case-makers and call-makers – and they back it up with their own significant capital support to the School. Ford has committed $2 million to establish the David B. Ford Endowed Professorship. Rowan has pledged $250,000 to the Campaign, in addition to his Wharton Fund giving and sponsorship of events for young alumni.
“It’s easy,” Ford says of his work on the committee. “I think Wharton made a difference in my life, and as I see it, it’s made a difference to almost everybody who went there. I’m not afraid to ask people to contribute some of their success back to Wharton.”
“It’s not the cleverness of the sell, but the passion of the conviction,” Ford says of the conversations committee members have with other alumni about the Campaign. “If you believe in what you’re asking for, it comes through in the discussion. And I really believe education is the thing that makes the difference in people’s lives.”
Years of Wharton volunteering have also taught Ford something about human nature. “We underestimate how generous people are willing to be with their time and money.” For Marc Rowan, another priority is bringing in a “new generation of leadership.” This involvement began a few years ago after what started out as a casual visit with other Wharton donors and then-Dean Thomas Gerrity. “The School had just gotten some great press and top-notch rankings, and I made the comment that, even so, I thought Wharton was missing out on an opportunity. It had alumni who had given spectacularly, but the School needed to be more aggressive in its approach to the new generation of graduates.”
So Rowan spearheaded the initiative, and the Leadership Gifts Committee now casts a focused spotlight on alumni of the last 25 years. “We’re at the point in the business community where people are assuming tremendous responsibility at an earlier age,” says Rowan. “We’re finding that a lot of these people would like to reconnect with other members of their class, with other people from Wharton as well as their industry.”
Beyond the Wharton camaraderie and connection, the Leadership Gifts Committee talks straight facts, starting with the fact that Wharton is acknowledged as the top-ranking business school in the world. But getting to the top can often be easier than staying there.
The Campaign for Sustained Leadership is, therefore, the School’s strategy for staying there. When the conversation gets around to sustaining this level of excellence, Campaign volunteer leaders have a lot to discuss – such as funding the faculty, students and infrastructure.
“We want faculty who fundamentally change the way people think about business broadly,” says Dean Harker. “People who own those ideas, not just popularize them. People who create the concept. Period. And we want great students. But you don’t get great students without making sure the doors are open to everybody – whether they can afford the place or not.” This is why gifts supporting financial aid are a priority.
Of course there are always bricks and mortar to consider. “We’re lacking space. That’s why Huntsman Hall is important,” says Harker. Technology infrastructure is a high priority too, especially since it doubles as a tool for finding new learning methods as information rapidly gets bumped into obsolescence.
The transformation of the learning environment is a pressing practicality in the business world too, as Ford notes: “There’s a new paradigm out there and we have to adjust to it. The new generation is very entrepreneurial. They’re much more willing to start companies, have them fail, and try different things. It’s a challenge to the teaching leadership and the educational system.”
The conversation can just as easily turn to global issues. “We are the biggest, broadest business school in the world, but we don’t know everything,” says Harker. “We have to fill in the gaps by continuing to partner globally with the best people in the world so we can bring that knowledge back here.”
This is the Wharton story that Ford, Rowan and other volunteer leaders talk about when they engage their fellow alumni on Wharton’s behalf.
But, as Harker puts it, “alumni are the Wharton story.” “Through their success, alumni are the brand of the School,” he emphasizes. “If we’re about creating the next generation of leaders for our global society, people who have a passion for excellence and who make change happen in the organizations and societies they are a part of, then our alumni prove by their success that Wharton is a leader.”
What is success for the Campaign? It’s not just dollars. “Yes, that makes possible the sustained leadership of the School,” Rowan says. “But the success of the Campaign is also about capturing a new connection with the alumni who will keep it going. If we do that on the Leadership Gifts Committee, then we’ll consider it’s been a success.”
The New Generation of Leadership
The new-generation alumni have more in common than their leadership and generosity. They see Wharton as a life-changing experience; they feel an obligation to give back; and they hold a passion for keeping the School at the forefront of business education.
Marc B. Wolpow, W’80
For Marc Wolpow, giving back to Wharton for his “terrific education” comes in the form of volunteer service on the Leadership Gifts Committee as well as outright leadership giving. With his $600,000 commitment in support of the Campaign, Wolpow is funding the Wolpow Family Endowed Scholarship Fund and a classroom in Huntsman Hall. “It takes a lot of money to run a good school,” Wolpow is quick to say. “It takes even more to run the best school.”
He believes that maintaining Wharton’s ability to anticipate business and economic developments is essential. “When I was at Wharton, ‘globalism’ was predicted to be the future direction of business – and this was long before it was a buzzword. That’s the cutting edge we need to keep.”
The Wolpow Family Endowed Scholarship Fund is also looking out for the future. Designated for a finance major, it is further targeted for a female student. Wolpow created the scholarship because his company had difficulty recruiting women, and because he has two young daughters: “I wanted my two daughters to understand that all opportunities are open to women.” Wolpow, whose family has now grown to include a son, hopes the scholarship will encourage more women to explore careers in finance.
Though Wolpow, who is founder and Co-CEO of Audax Group, sometimes regrets not having more time to offer to the school, he decided that “if other alumni are making the effort, I should.” Whether it’s financial support or being part of the Leadership Gift Committee, Wolpow is glad to lend his name in support of Wharton.
Randall Weisenburger, WG’87
One important lesson Randall Weisenburger learned at Wharton was how not to know things. Instead, he says, “Wharton gets you to understand things – the conceptual and analytical fundamentals that help you arrive at a conclusion.” One thing Weisenburger knows for sure is that Wharton helped get him where he wanted to go – a career in mergers and acquisitions – and he isn’t about to forget it. His Campaign for Sustained Leadership commitments include a $125,000 gift to the Wharton Fund and a four-room cluster of spaces in the new Huntsman Hall, which will carry the Weisenburger Family name thanks to a $2 million pledge.
Weisenburger hopes this will serve as a reminder that leadership is not a static state. “Unless new people get behind it and help maintain its dynamic positioning, Wharton won’t remain the world’s premier business education.”
Sustaining this effort is a collective enterprise. “It’s not just a matter of writing some checks. The School’s strength lies with its alumni, whose broadbased experience and knowledge helps mold the School’s principles and actions. That’s what has gotten it where it is.” And not incidentally, he adds, “having such a strong alumni network gives the School the opportunity to continue at a faster pace than everyone else.”
Philip M.Darivoff, W’79, WG’85
While a student at Penn and Wharton, Phil Darivoff made great friends who have remained a part of his life – most prominently his wife, Betsy Marks Darivoff, C’79. Gratitude for the personal and professional good fortune that flowed from their University of Pennsylvania experience is part of what motivates Phil and Betsy today. Their support includes a gift to Wharton to fund an endowed professorship, the Wharton Fund and Huntsman Hall.
Darivoff also stresses the realities of the times. “The Wharton brand cannot be sustained without pre-eminent faculty, and I have benefited greatly from Wharton’s brand. Since the School is always in competition for talent, both faculty and students, I want to do what I can to help the School attract and retain the best people.”
That’s also why Darivoff, Managing Director of Goldman, Sachs & Co., advises the exceptional young people he meets to consider studying at Wharton.
But giving back goes beyond business. “As we get older we realize there’s more to our lives than our business accomplishments,” says Darivoff. “We support those institutions that we feel obligated to support because of what these institutions have given us.” These include their synagogue, community, and Penn. The Darivoff family is funding a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at Penn in addition to their Wharton commitments.
Strength in Numbers: the Wharton Fund
This year the Wharton Fund aims to top the $6 million mark – donor by donor. Each gift helps fund a student’s tuition, invigorate an academic program, enhance computer technology or provide faculty support. No gift is too small. This money is crucial to Wharton because it’s unrestricted; it can be used where it’s needed, when it’s needed. It’s also annual. It comes in reliably, year after year.
Reunion classes are key to the Wharton Fund’s success. This year, alumni who graduated in years ending in “01” and “06” will provide more than a third of the Wharton Fund total. Please join your friends and classmates for this year’s annual Alumni Weekend, which will take place May 18-20, 2001. For more information on Alumni Weekend, please contact Alumni Affairs at 215.898.8478. To inquire about Reunion gifts, contact Leslie Arbuthnot at 215.898.7868.
