Simon School announces two
international gifts for professorships
The Simon School of Business has announced two major gifts from international donors to establish endowed professorships.
The Wadhawan family, leaders of a multibillion-dollar conglomerate comprising housing finance, retail supermarkets, real estate development, and restaurant and hotels chains across India, has pledged $1.5 million to establish an endowed professorship fund at the school. The gift is the first of its kind from an Indian family to a top-tier U.S. business school.
In addition, China native Evans Lam ’83, ’84S (MBA) and his wife, Susanna, are beginning a $1.5 million endowment to support a professorship at the Simon School. The Susanna and Evans Y. Lam Professorship will allow the school to attract global business scholars from around the world. Lam is senior vice president for investments at UBS Financial Services.
“We are most grateful to the Wadhawan and Lam families for their investment in the future of the Simon School,” says Simon School Dean Mark Zupan. “Their gifts will enable us to bring premier scholars to Simon to train the world’s future business leaders. We are also immensely grateful for their willingness to set a new example of philanthropy from international donors to top-tier schools of business in the United States.”
The Rajesh Wadhawan Professorship Fund will be used to support a full-time faculty member who plays a leading role in advancing the standing of the Simon School and management education through service and teaching contributions with a preference for a professor making an impact in India. The professorship will help attract and retain leading faculty to research and teach at the Simon School. The gift, in memory of the late patriarch of the Wadhawan family, Rajesh Kumar Wadhawan, is from his wife, Aruna Wadhawan, and his sons, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan.
Through this endowment, the family says it is taking forward Rajesh Wadhawan’s vision of transforming society by imparting the gift of knowledge to a growing generation of business leaders. “It is our earnest belief that knowledge not only leads to wealth creation but also to a more progressive society,” the family says.
In addition, Simon School faculty will begin teaching nondegree executive education courses for firms in India beginning later this academic year.
Prior to joining UBS in 2008, Lam was senior vice president of wealth management and senior portfolio manager at Citigroup Smith Barney, where he advised affluent clients since 1991. Lam gained experience in mergers and acquisitions as director of corporate finance at Toronto Dominion Bank and vice president at Deutsche Bank. In 2002, he advised the State Council of China on monetary reform. An actively involved alumnus, he currently serves on the Simon School Executive Advisory Committee and National Council, where he provides leadership and counsel to Zupan on the advancement of the school around the world. He is also a member of the University’s Regional Cabinet in Los Angeles.
“I am forever grateful to the University of Rochester and the Simon School for providing me with the foundation for my career in corporate finance and investment management. I came to the United States with $180 and a four-year scholarship from the University. The school enabled me to fulfill the American dream. Giving back is part of this dream and what makes America great.”
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