University of Chicago Business School Gifted $100 Million for Its 100th Anniversary
Credit: Image Credit: Jeff Greenberg / Universal Images Group / Getty Images- The program will be renamed the Stevens Doctoral Program.
- The gift will increase research and student funding, wellness, development, and mental health support.
- The program has only awarded 968 degrees since its establishment in 1920.
The Ph.D. program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business received an alum gift matching its 100th anniversary: $100 million.
The University of Chicago announced April 28 that entrepreneur and philanthropist Ross Stevens donated the gift to advance academic business research to celebrate the milestone anniversary of the Ph.D. program.
The selective program, which began in 1920 and has only given 968 degrees, will be renamed the Stevens Doctoral Program.
“Thanks to Ross’s extraordinary generosity and bold vision, the Stevens Doctoral Program is poised to accelerate and broaden the impact of its scholars now and long into the future,” said Madhav Rajan, Chicago Booth dean and George Pratt Shultz professor of accounting.
The gift will increase student stipends, double data and computing research support, and financially support top incoming students through “Stevens Fellowships.”
The doctoral program will implement personal wellness coaching, public speaking and professional development, and full-time mental health support through donations.
Lastly, the gift will create an alum mentoring initiative to connect current Ph.D. students with alums.
“I believe that, over time, the quality of a business school’s PhDs determines the quality of its faculty, which, in turn, determines the quality of the school itself,” Stevens said.
“Booth is already in an exceptionally strong position, but the students of tomorrow demand we don’t rest on our laurels today. By making Booth the unquestionable destination of choice for the very best PhD applicants, this gift adds rocket fuel to Booth’s long-term mission.”