The Goizueta Foundation announced a $30 million gift to Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, the largest donation the school has ever received, on Dec. 4. The money will be used to create new learning initiatives and to enhance the school’s educational programs, according to a University press release.
About $20 million of the gift will go to the Business School’s endowment while the rest will support the creation of a virtual classroom, holograms to facilitate “pop-up” campuses at other locations and virtual reality simulations, according to Emory Business. The donation will enhance and expand the school’s entrepreneurship and innovation programs and provide additional investment in programs focused on the impact of business on communities.
In an interview with the Wheel, Goizueta Business School Dean Erika James expressed hopes that the gift will enhance the school’s existing programs as well as create new opportunities.
“One of the things that the gift is supporting is our development of the teaching pedagogy and leveraging [of] a variety of different methodologies to deliver an education experience,” James said. “That may include using technology in new and different ways and giving our students greater access to people around the world through technology.”
The school is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its naming after Roberto C. Goizueta, former chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. The Goizueta Foundation, established in 1992, provides financial assistance to educational and charitable institutions in metro Atlanta.
“Our mission is largely connected to the student experience and advancing their knowledge and capabilities to be future leaders,” James said. “This gift will definitely facilitate their experience in the classroom and will give them opportunities to be exposed to the ways in which business interacts in various communities, both locally and around the world.”
The Business School has received over $70 million in gifts from alumni over the last five years, according to the press release.
“This is monumental for our school. Every dean has responsibility for generating resources that will help support and sustain programs and people at the school, and to have a gift of this magnitude really supports ... our endowment,” James said. “It also will support some new initiatives that require funds that we would not have had without this support.”
