$3 Billion Down. $500 Million to Go
On February 18, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced a major milestone in the University’s historic Making History campaign. Speaking to the Board of Trustees, Gutmann revealed that the campaign had reached the $3 billion mark—an achievement that she called an “extraordinary” affirmation of “our bold vision for Penn.”
“Together we are creating the most gifted and diverse student body in Penn’s history,” Gutmann said in a message to the Penn community. “We are generating new kinds of knowledge to tackle society’s most complex and urgent questions, and we are building a green urban campus unlike any other.”
The campaign was launched in 2005 and is set to be completed in December of 2012. In all, it will raise $3.5 billion for Penn, including $550 million for Wharton. As of our press date, Wharton had raised $430 million toward its overall goal.
For more information about The Campaign for Wharton—and to find out how your gift can help Wharton remain the world’s leading purveyor of business knowledge— visit www.thecampaignforwharton.com.
$6.5 million Establishes Lipman Family Prize in Leadership and Innovation
The University of Pennsylvania in late January announced a $6.5 million gift from Barry R. Lipman to establish the Lipman Family Prize, a new annual prize that will recognize and amplify the work of an organization devoted to positive social impact and the creation of sustainable solutions to significant social and economic challenges. Barry Lipman, W’70, is a co-founder of Goldfarb & Lipman (now Goldfarb Lipman, a leading California law firm).
Emphasizing leadership, innovation, social impact and transferability, the Lipman Family Prize will be a major award with a global scope, propelling the winning organization’s achievements forward through a combination of financial rewards, media outreach and scholarly attention. Each year, the winning organization will receive a $100,000 cash award and opportunities for an ongoing relationship with the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School, including collaboration with Wharton Executive Education, partnerships with faculty researchers, internships with graduate students and development of course content. Finalists for the Lipman Family Prize will also receive the same non-cash benefits.
Prize winners will be selected by an interdisciplinary steering committee, comprising faculty and staff from across the University of Pennsylvania—drawing upon the expertise of such entities as the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, the Center for Leadership and Change Management, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the School of Social Policy & Practice and the Wharton School.
Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson said the School was “deeply grateful” for the gift. “Dedication to social impact is one of the pillars of the Wharton School,” he said, “and it is an honor to administer such an important award that recognizes organizations with an effective, innovative approach to creating social and economic value worldwide.”
The application process for the inaugural Lipman Family Prize is expected to launch in Spring 2011, with the first award ceremony to be held in Spring 2012.
Said Lipman: “My goal with this award is to expand the benefit of social impact organizations around the world by helping to improve their delivery of services through competition, to inspire Penn students to enter the field, and to encourage the transfer of successful methods of operation to similar local and regional organizations.”
