U. of Tenn. Lands $40 Million, and Spelman Receives $10 Million (Gifts Roundup)

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

James and Natalie Haslam and their family gave $40 million to support programs in the Haslam College of Business, which was named for the family in 2014 when they donated $50 million for the business school.

The new gift will enable the college to hire new faculty, and will back professorships, undergraduate honors programs, and graduate student fellowships. It will also be used to march gifts from other donors and to support efforts to increase diversity in the college’s student body.

James Haslam founded the Pilot Corporation, a Knoxville company that operates convenience stores and travel centers throughout North America. He and his wife both graduated from the university in 1952. Their son Jimmy Haslam and his wife Dee, and their other son Bill Haslam and his wife, Crissy, contributed to this latest gift.

Bill Haslam served as governor of Tennessee from 2011 to 2019. He was the president of Pilot Corporation in the 1990s and later served as CEO of the e-commerce and cataloging division at the department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue. Jimmy Haslam is CEO of the Pilot Company, and Dee Haslam is CEO of Haslam Sports. Dee and Jimmy Haslam also own the Cleveland Browns and are investors and operators of MLS Columbus Crew, a professional soccer team.

Spelman College

Seth and Beth Klarman donated $10 million to back scholarships with an emphasis on helping students overcome the financial barriers that may prevent them from graduating.

Seth Klarman is chief executive of the Baupost Group, an investment-management firm, and the author of Margin of Safety, a finance book. Since 2015 the couple have committed more than $16 million to Spelman.

University of California at San Diego School of Medicine

James Ong and his wife Linda Tseng-Ong gave $2 million to establish the Medical Student Educational Opportunities Fund.

The fund can be used to back scholarships; expand diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; support efforts related to returning to a safe campus environment amid Covid-19; and pay for other programs as needed.

The Ongs are physicians and UC San Deigo alumni. Linda Tseng-Ong is a pediatric neurologist who earned a bioengineering degree from the Jacobs School of Engineering in 1987. James Ong is a cardiologist who earned his M.D. from the university in 1989.

Marquette University

Jeff and Sarah Joerres pledged $1.5 million, half of which will support study-abroad opportunities, paid internships, and experiential learning trips for students of color who are the first in their families to attend college.

The other half of the donation will back the university’s new Neuro Recovery Clinic, which specializes in the complex care of patients facing life-altering injuries and conditions.

Jeff Joerres retired in 2015 as executive chairman of ManpowerGroup, a Milwaukee staffing and executive-services company, where he served in various roles over 22 years. He and Sarah Joerres graduated from the university in 1983, and Jeff served on Marquette’s Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2012.

Otis College of Art and Design

Mei-Lee Ney gave $1 million to back scholarships and the hiring of a diversity, equity, and inclusion executive post. She said in a news release that she is giving the money in response to the anti-racism actions announced by the college in June.

“I made my donation because racial injustice is something I feel strongly about,” Ney said in the release. “Systemic racism within our educational, financial, and societal institutions disproportionately affects Black communities and can create additional obstacles for students, faculty, and staff.”

Ney is president of Richard Ney & Associates Asset Management, an investment advisory firm she helped run with her business partner and late husband, Richard, since 1973. She has worked in the investment industry since 1967 and was one of two women stockbrokers in the early 1970s at Neuberger Loeb and Company, a New York investment firm. Ney is chairman of the college’s Board of Trustees.

To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.