Busy School Gets $5 Million in Gifts

The Business School late last week passed the $5,000,000 mark in this year's drive to match John D. Rockefeller's conditional gift of that amount. President Conant announced yesterday the success of the most intensive fund-raising effort in recent Harvard history. Conant added that the Business School has now passed the halfway point in its post-war campaign for $20,000,000.

Little information is available on the actual gifts that made up most of the $5,000,000 raised in 12 months since Rockefeller made his surprise offer last June to contribute $5,000,000 to the school if it could match that sum by July 1, 1950.

Announced gifts total only about $750,000, but it was known during the drive that many gifts were being made anonymously and that large pledges were not being publicized.

Success of the drive can be laid almost completely to the work of one man, Dean David; on a virtual leave of absence this year, David has travelled the country, selling the Business School as a bulwark of "individual enterprise." More than 1,000 individuals, over 45 corporations, and several foundations were responsible for giving the whole amount.

$500,000 Largest Gift

The largest gift received during the year was $500,000, David said yesterday; he did not indicate the source of the donation. David added that the next largest gifts were the two $300,000 endowed professorships announced previously.

The bulk of the money came from donations in the tens of thousands of dollars. Officials view as significant the success of the drive without any giant gifts.

Many of the over 1,000 individual givers are represented in the over $60,000 that the newly-established Business School Fund raised in small contributions.

Conant's statement saw the drive's success as having significance beyond Harvard. He called it "heartening to... the future of endowed educational institutions."

Belief in Business School

David said that the gifts from corporations show their belief that the Business School will serve them in the future. He noted that companies' role in financing education may become increasingly important.

Rockefeller's $5,000,000 will provide for the construction and partial endowment of a new classroom building at the school. The new building will be named in honor of the late Senator Nelson W. Aldrich of Rhode Island, Rockefeller's father-in-law.

The additional $5,000,000 will go mostly towards scholarship, research, and loan funds, besides unrestricted endowment for the school.

Some of the major gifts will be announced this summer, as soon as details are straightened out with the donors. Rockefeller has already received a detailed report on all contributions.

Gift from Baker Foundation

One donation came from the George F. Baker Foundation; the Baker family previously had given over $6,500,000 to the school. This year's gift was described as smaller than the $500,000 given last year to the school for building renovation.

Success of the drive is a great milestone in David's administration at the Business School. Dean since 1942, David has increased significantly the prestige and standing of the 42-year-old graduate school.

In the current drive, David had priority over the University's other fund campaign in approaching leading supporters of Harvard.

During the drive, speculation centered around a large donation from the $200,000,000 Ford Foundation, of which David is a director.