It's a very happy birthday year for the 30-year-old Business School Trust. Established in 1966 with $70,000 in contributions, the alumni/ae-run trust fund had grown to more than $40 million -- upward of 15 percent of the School's total endowment -- by the end of fiscal year 1996. Over the years, the trust has funded everything from capital improvements to fellowships; the latter have supported 1,086 MBA and PhD students as well as 27 faculty members. In recent years, through a $75,000 grant to the MBA students' Finance and Investment Club, the trust also has served as a laboratory for potential investment fund managers.
As the trust begins its fourth decade, its investments are handled by 6 general investment managers and 8 venture capital managers who report to a board of trustees. Gerald L. Tomanek Jr., MBA '73, is chairman of the trustees; Robert B. Anthonyson, MBA '70, is vice chair; and Clifton S. Robbins, MBA '84, is secretary.
Some peaks in the fund's performance in the last 30 years include:
1966: Business School Trust is established with $70,000 in founders' contributions. Returns are reinvested for the first 10 years. Payout, when it comes, will be unrestricted.
1976: First payout -- $18,500 -- goes to MBA and PhD fellowships.
1978: Breaks its first million dollars, reaches $1.2 million.
1985: Hits $5 million, makes its first venture capital investment.
1986: Amends original terms to include endowed fellowships in addition to endowed unrestricted funds.
1987: Reaches $10.8 million -- before the October '87 crash.
1988: Recovers with $10.4 million.
1988-92: Funds 27 faculty fellowships from the general fund payout.
1989: Allocates $75,000 to MBA Finance and Investment Club to give students hands-on practice at investment management.
1991: Breaks $20 million.
1996: Exceeds $40 million. Roughly one-third of the total is made up of individual fellowship funds, 14 of which are class fellowships created during reunions.
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