Endowment Gifts

Rex D. Adams Society Members

Gifts to endowment create perpetual funding—a foundation of financial security—that supports Fuqua’s core priorities and programs. Endowment assets are invested, and the annual earnings are used both to support the purpose of your fund and to build market value. Thus endowment funds can grow and provide support in perpetuity.

Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships attract diverse, global, and outstanding student talent to Fuqua. In a shrinking market of MBA candidates, competition is as fierce as ever among top business schools for the best candidates, and merit scholarships can make or break a student’s decision to come to Fuqua. Between academic years 2009-10 and 2017-18, the school’s scholarship budget grew by 72%. At the same time, the school had tremendous success in growing its base of endowed scholarships, with 84 new endowed scholarship funds created and $36 million in new endowed scholarship commitments made. However, the school’s scholarship needs have outpaced its fundraising, and creation of new endowed scholarships continues to be a top fundraising priority for the school.

  • A gift of $1.5 million funds one full scholarship to educate outstanding students at Fuqua.
  • A gift of $300,000 endows a fund to support a student in a particular field of study, or from a particular country or region.
  • A gift of $100,000 provides significant scholarship assistance for a top business student.

Faculty and Research

Top-ranked for many years for their research productivity, Fuqua’s faculty is well regarded in the academic community worldwide. Our faculty’s primary focus is quality research that contributes to a greater understanding of business trends and functions. Their research is published in top journals, and many of our faculty hold leadership positions on the editorial boards of those journals. Their research findings are also cited in the mainstream media more than 100 times each month, with coverage in top publications and outlets like the Financial Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Bloomberg Businessweek. Endowed support to create chaired professorships and to fuel research that informs both academia and industry is critical to ensuring that Fuqua can attract and retain top scholars and teachers.

  • A gift of $3.5 million endows a named full professorship for an innovative, seasoned faculty member.
  • A gift of $1.5 million funds a professor of the practice—often former executives, entrepreneurs, government advisors, and others with a wealth of professional business experience.
  • A gift of $100,000 or more, endowed or expendable, supports faculty research and programs like the CFO Global Business Outlook and the Center for Energy, Development, and the Global Environment (EDGE).

Program Support

Endowed funds for academic programs, centers, and co-curricular programming ensures that the school has the resources to keep pace in a highly competitive, global business school environment. Funding for the school’s core academic programs is essential, and endowed gifts ensure that the school has a steady source of revenue year after year to maintain programs of top academic caliber. Endowed support of centers like the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) and programming like the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum (FCCP) is essential to giving students the opportunity to explore special interests and to apply academics to real-world issues.

  • A gift of $100,000 or more funds vital parts of the student experience and ensures that Fuqua continues to be an innovator in business education.

Partners in Education, Philanthropy, and Life

Tom and Katrinka McCallum
Katrinka McCallum MBA ’95 and Tom McCallum MBA ’95 were one of the first married couples to enroll at Fuqua in the same Fuqua class and program. Now, they have tripled their contributions to The Katrinka and Tom McCallum Scholarship Fund.

Merit Scholarships

Sparking philanthropy in others

Joe Wu MBA '04
When it comes to building the Team Fuqua community in China, Chak Man (Joe) Wu MBA ’04 stands out as an ardent advocate, a dedicated volunteer, and a generous donor. In 2017, Joe created the Wu Family Scholarship to benefit students from China.

Professorships

Philanthropy at the speed of business​

Mark Burgess MBA '85
Mark Burgess MBA ’85 and his wife, Lisa, were the first to establish a professorship through The Duke Endowment’s Fuqua Faculty Support Challenge. Their gift of $1.75 million endowed the Mark Steven Burgess and Lisa Benson-Burgess Professorship.