Steve Ballmer Gift to Boost Harvard Computer Faculty by 50%

Harvard University will hire 12 new computer science teachers, bolstering the faculty in its fastest-growing major by 50 percent, with a donation from former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Bloomberg reports. The university did not disclose the size of the gift, announced Thursday, but The Harvard Crimson writes that a single Harvard professorship generally costs about $5-million to endow.

Asked by the campus newspaper whether $60-million was an appropriate estimate for the donation, Mr. Ballmer, a 1977 Harvard graduate who remains Microsoft’s biggest shareholder, said the math was “pretty good.” The contribution comes one day after the University of Oregon announced a $50-million donation from Mr. Ballmer and his wife, Connie, largely to support scholarships for low-income students and an obesity-prevention program.