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The GSB and The Stanford Challenge

 
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Service-minded Alumnus Sets Shining Example

A self-described farm boy who started out in a one-room
schoolhouse in North Dakota, Ralph Thrane, MBA ’58,
came to the Graduate School of Business on the GI bill.
A research assistantship helped finance his studies. Since leaving
the GSB, his leadership in fundraising and volunteer activities
has become a hallmark of his long and successful career.

"I've always been grateful to the GSB for accepting me,"
Thrane reflects. "My Stanford MBA provided me with a great
management education and a group of lifelong friends. I owe
a considerable debt to the GSB, and leading my 50th reunion
fundraising campaign was a way to give back."

Throughout his career as an executive at two Fortune 500
companies and in volunteer service supporting a broad range of
causes, including two stellar GSB reunion fundraising campaigns,
Thrane has always understood the importance of participation.
A seasoned volunteer with experience spanning 24 nonprofit
organizations, Thrane accepted the invitation to chair his
50th reunion fundraising campaign and chose to make the GSB
a priority among his volunteer and philanthropic activities.

In order to ask his classmates to increase their participation from
the previous reunion, Thrane felt he should demonstrate his own
dedication to the collective class goal. He immediately stepped
up his own commitments, making a five-year pledge toward
increased annual support, a charitable gift annuity, and a bequest
to the school. He then recruited and led a 16-person volunteer
team to reach out to the entire class and worked closely with
reunion planning chair Foster Kinney, MBA ’58, to make their
50th one for the record books.

Additionally, Thrane and classmate Bud Lake, MBA ’58, offered
a $15,000 match if the class reached 50-percent participation by
reunion weekend. Spurred by the match, the class succeeded.
But class members did not stop there. They went on to raise a
Class of 1958 record with $425,000 plus an additional $85,000
in bequest intentions. They also achieved a 50th reunion record
with 72-percent participation.

"Any gift of time or money sends the message that GSB
alumni support the fundamental mission of the school and are
committed to sharing the opportunities we experienced with
future generations of students," Thrane notes. The collective
effort provides the GSB with a vital stream of sustained support in
course development and other key areas like global management
and faculty recruitment.

The Graduate School of Business relies on annual giving for
a significant portion of its operating budget. In the current
economic climate, the GSB is more dependent than ever on
the generosity of its alumni to provide the financial flexibility
to strengthen core academic areas while continuing to innovate.
Ralph Thrane’s leadership stands out as an example of the role
that alumni play in sustaining the continued success of the school.