UCLA Anderson alumnus and current Chairman and Chief Executive of BlackRock Laurence Fink and his wife Lori donated $10 million to the UCLA Anderson School of Management on Thursday, the largest endowment since John Anderson’s naming donation in 1987.
The gift will be used to fund the UCLA Center for Finance, which will be renamed the Laurence D. and Lori W. Fink Center for Finance and Investments.
About $3 million of the gift will go toward a new endowed chair.
“We have 20 endowed chairs. … Each endowed chair has been established by a gift from someone,” said Richard Roll, professor of finance and faculty director of the Fink Center.
Roll added that the revenue will also be used to fund research, pay for speaker events and supplement salaries.
“Part of the money will be used for events, Roll said. “Distinguished speakers will be speaking to the faculty and students.”
The rest of the gift will be used for activities, conferences and scholarships, including Ph.D. and MBA fellowships for students.
The money will also be used to fund a quarterly bulletin.
“The bulletins usually contain an article written by an academic ““ we had an issue on carry trade,” Roll said.
Though the money is being allocated to a number of sources, Anderson officials said they share with the Finks a joint vision for use of the funds.
“One of our major goals is to effectively disseminate research to practitioners in an effective way and to simultaneously get their input and perspective,” said Pansy Yang, the executive director of the Fink Center.
Yang added that the funds will be used for activities that bridge academics and business professionals. Those events would involve both alumni and students.
Faculty members mentioned holding forums to help to make scholarly research more accessible to business practitioners.
“There are a lot of papers being published that practitioners do not read. … We need a practice that disseminates those ideas,” Roll said.
Faculty within Anderson said alumni donations are becoming increasingly important to stay competitive as the state withdraws funding.
Roll added that Anderson often has to compete with private universities such as Harvard and Stanford for top faculty, but that the new chair position and increased funding could help.
“There is a national marketplace for academia,” Roll said.
“When I first came here, much of the money came from the state … but now it is very little.”
As a result, Roll said, much of Anderson’s revenue has been obtained through fundraising and corporate sponsorship.
“We have already raised $7 million, but this is the biggest gift so far,” Roll said.
Dean of Anderson Judy Olian expressed her appreciation in a statement.
“I am deeply grateful for Larry and Lori’s extraordinary support for the school. With their vision and commitment, we will further enhance the reputation of the center throughout the finance, academic and professional communities, having an impact on national and global financial markets,” Olian said in her statement.
Roughly $500,000 ““ or 5 percent of the interest from the $10 million ““ will be used each year, Yang said.