International Giving Increases, Especially from India’s Tata

Harvard students, faculty, and affiliates will soon be able to enjoy translations of classical Indian literature, a new executive education building at Harvard Business School, and an expanded Humanities Center—projects to be funded by recent gifts from three Indian businessmen.

Despite nationwide decreases in philanthropic giving due to economic weakness in the past few years, Harvard has received over $65 million from three Indian donors—Tata Trusts and Companies, N. R. Narayana Murty, and Anand G. Mahindra ’77—in 2010.

Professors view these donations as yet another iteration in the trend toward globalization—both in terms of Harvard’s outlook as well as India’s presence on the world stage.

Vice Provost for International Affairs Jorge I. Dominguez notes that these three donations—which include a $50 million gift to the Business School, the single largest donation from an international donor in the school’s history—are indicative of an overall upward tick in international donations.

“This is more a pattern of Harvard alumni in different parts of the world who are beginning to behave like U.S. alumni have for a long time,” Dominguez says. “It’s more a part of a general pattern—whether they’re from India, or from London, or Germany, or Hong Kong.”

Other faculty members say that sourcing gifts from international alumni and donors reflects the University’s increasingly global perspective.

“We are entering what is likely to be a truly global century, and thus having the Tata name on a building here at HBS is a wonderful reflection of this new global reality and our belief that innovation and great ideas increasingly will be found all over the world,” wrote Business School Dean Nitin Nohria in an e-mail.

Business School Professor Sunil Gupta says that these donations come at a time of tremendous growth in the Indian economy, meaning that Indian corporations, which are emerging onto the global scene, now have the funds to make donations.

“Tata Groups now own hotels in America,” Gupta says. “This donation shows their global strength.”

Professors note that these donations reflect India’s cultural traditions stressing the importance of education and represent a longtime interest in Western educational institutions.

“I think it’s important to realize that there has always been elite Indian interest in Harvard,” says English Professor Homi K. Bhaba, director of the Humanities Center at Harvard. “One of the things that has to be mentioned is the respect that is invested in education in India. Educational institutions are highly regarded in India; they are part of the Indian tradition of learning.”

Murty, Tata, and Mahindra also have personal connections to the University, and these connections likely played a role in their donations, according to several Business School professors. Murty’s son Rohan is a GSAS doctorate student; Mahindra, who graduated from Harvard College in 1977, also attended the Business School; and Tata attended the Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 1975.

In April, Murty—chairman and founder of Infosys Technologies, an information technology services company—gifted the University $5.2 million for a new publication series, The Murty Classical Library of India. The bilingual series will make numerous classic works of Indian literature available in English.

On Oct. 4, Mahindra, vice chairman and managing director of industrial giant Mahindra & Mahindra, donated $10 million to support the Humanities Center. This is the largest gift directed solely toward the humanities in Harvard’s history.

Most recently, a donation from Tata Trusts and Companies—the philanthropic arm of the Tata Group, a conglomerate with a market value of $80 billion—bestowed $50 million to the Business School. The gift will help finance the construction of the Business School’s new executive education building and the Harvard Innovation Lab in Allston.

And Business School Professor Tarun Khanna says these donations may have a broader global impact.

“In addition to being used well by the Harvard University Press, the Business School, and the Humanities Center, these donations may trigger a wave of consciousness in India and South Asia in general that will encourage fortunate people to support good institutions,” Khanna says.

“International philanthropy like this—with money flowing from a relatively undeveloped country to a more developed one—will help break down cultural stereotypes,” he adds.

—Staff writer Tara W. Merrigan can be reached at tmerrigan@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Sofia E. Groopman contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Gautam S. Kumar contributed to the reporting of this story.