UCLA Anderson School of Management Announces $100 Million Campaign

Business Wire, Sept 26, 2008

LOS ANGELES -- UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and UCLA Anderson School of Management Dean Judy Olian last night announced the launch of a $100 million campaign for the school. Approximately two hundred alumni, friends and members of the campus community celebrated the kickoff at an event hosted at the Chancellor's residence. Accelerate the Campaign for UCLA Anderson will raise private funds for the school's strategic priorities: to accelerate the impact of management thinking, develop future leaders, form global partnerships and strengthen the connections to alumni and friends. In support of these goals, the school is raising funds for faculty chairs, endowed research centers and student fellowships, faculty research, teaching excellence, and global initiatives. The campaign will conclude in 2010, the year of the school's 75th anniversary.

"The complexity of the demands for business and organizational leadership is especially evident in these times of global market turbulence. UCLA Anderson is committed and obligated to preparing our graduates for the challenges of leadership in business and financial institutions, non-profits and communities all over the world," said Olian. "As a public institution, we must bridge the funding gap to assure our excellence, and to preserve the special mission of the school. For this, we rely heavily on the extraordinarily generous support of our alumni and friends, who are actively engaged in shaping the bold plans for our future."

Dean Olian announced that $46 million has already been raised toward the $100 million goal. The Accelerate campaign received a boost in May 2008 when Larry Fink, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, Inc., and his wife Lori, committed $10 million to endow the Laurence and Lori Fink Center for Finance & Investments. Fink, a UCLA Anderson '76 and UCLA '74 alumnus, spoke at the event last night, articulating his view of the vital importance of the Accelerate Campaign for the school's future and its ability to have real world impact.

"I can't think of a more important time than now to get academics more involved," said Fink, referencing the nation's current financial crisis. "(I believe) it will be centers of excellence such as UCLA Anderson's (Fink) Center for Finance & Investments, bringing together the academic and business communities, along with government, that will help us understand the causes (of the current crisis) and more importantly, how we resolve it."

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block described the ambitious campaign as essential for UCLA Anderson to remain among the world's top management schools. "UCLA Anderson is outstanding in faculty, students and innovative programs that extend around the world. The school's leadership has outlined a bold strategic plan for the future. The campaign will ensure that their vision can be realized, despite shrinking public funds, and that UCLA Anderson will continue to be a leader in contemporary management education."

Real estate entrepreneur Richard S. Ziman, chairman, AVP Advisors, LLP, and venture capital investor Richard R. Crowell ('80), managing partner, Vance Street Capital, LLC, both generous philanthropists to UCLA Anderson, are chairing the campaign. The event was attended by many long-time supporters and friends of the school including John E. Anderson, president of Topa Equities, and his wife, Marion, who provided the naming gift for the school in 1987.

About UCLA Anderson School of Management

UCLA Anderson School of Management, established in 1935, is regarded among the leading business schools in the world. UCLA Anderson faculty members are advancing management thinking through innovative research and teaching. Each year, UCLA Anderson provides management education to more than 1,700 students enrolled in MBA, Executive MBA, Fully-Employed MBA and doctoral programs, and to more than 2,000 professional managers through executive education programs. Combining highly selective admissions, varied and innovative learning programs, and a world-wide network of 36,000 alumni, UCLA Anderson prepares global leaders.