February 10, 2014 | Read Time: 1 minute
Amount donated in 2013: $40.1-million
Beneficiary: Auburn University College of Business
Background: Mr. Harbert is chairman and chief executive of Harbert Management Corporation, as asset-management firm that grew out of Harbert Corporation, which was founded by his father, John Harbert III.
Mr. and Ms. Harbert, ages 55 and 54, respectively, pledged $40-million to Auburn University College of Business. Of the total, $15-million will endow the business school; $10-million will endow professorships in business analytics, finance, and supply-chain management; $5-million be used to establish a Ph.D. program in finance; $4-million will create a center focused on securities and wealth creation; $2-million to help establish a research institute on supply-chain management; $2-million to support new programs, and $2-million to pay for improvements to the college’s buildings and its technology systems.
To receive the $15-million for endowment, the business school must raise an additional $15-million over the next three years.
The Harberts also gave Auburn University $32,600 for athletic scholarships and $20,000 to support academic programs in the College of Human Sciences.
Mr. Harbert earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial management from the university in 1982, and Ms. Harbert earned a bachelor’s degree there in public administration in 1981. Before last year’s pledge, the Harberts had given a total if $5.6-million to the university.
The Philanthropy 50: Browse the full list of America’s most generous donors in 2013.
Learn more: See these donors’ listing in our database of major gifts, America’s Top Donors.
