<p>To: University Community
From: Robert J. Zimmer, President
Re: Gift Announcement
Date: May 30, 2007</p>
<p>It is with great pleasure that I announce a $100 million gift to the
University of Chicago in support of a new financial aid program
for undergraduates. This remarkable gift, from an alumnus of
the College who wishes to remain anonymous, will be the
cornerstone of a $400 million undergraduate student aid initiative
that will transform our ability to attract and support students
from lower and middle income groups. It is the largest gift in the
history of the University.</p>
<p>Beginning in the Fall of 2008, incoming students as well as
returning students will be eligible for these enhanced aid
packages, named Odyssey Scholarships, which will eliminate
student loans entirely among students with demonstrated
financial need whose annual family income is less than $60,000
and will eliminate half the student loan packages among students
with demonstrated financial need whose annual family income is
between $60,000 and $75,000. We expect 1,200 students to
benefit from the program at a time--nearly 25 percent of the
entire College population. As part of the program, approximately
50 students most likely to benefit from a summer enrichment
program to prepare them for their College experience will be
invited to campus the summer before their first year to spend
eight weeks working with faculty. Those students will also be
relieved of work-study during their first year in the College,
enhancing their ability to engage fully in the rich intellectual life
of the University.</p>
<p>As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Core Curriculum,
this gift ensures that the most talented students, no matter their
economic circumstances, will have the opportunity to benefit
from the uniquely powerful and rigorous Chicago education.
Providing access to the College for these students comports with
our highest values, is central to our mission, and has the potential
to greatly enrich the life opportunities for these students and their
families for generations to come.</p>
<p>The alumnus responsible for this gift, who graduated in the 1980s,
reflected on the enduring influence of his Chicago education when
making this great act of philanthropy: "Although I fell far from the
academic vine, my education in the College convinced me (in a way that
no event or person has yet to undermine) that I was in fact, as Hanna
H. Gray declared at my graduation, somehow a worthy citizen of an
ancient and honorable community of scholars. The self-esteem that
comes from a sense of citizenship in that tradition, however upon
reflection marred it may be, has been the simple fixed point of the
Archimedean comedy of my personal and professional successes. I make
this gift to the University of Chicago because I believe it has had a
profound effect on my life. I give this gift in the hopes that future
generations of students will not be prevented from attending the
College because of financial incapacity and may graduate without the
siren of debt distracting them from taking risks and fulfilling
dreams."</p>
<p>This act of generosity is also designed to be an act of inspiration,
or, as the donor describes it, "a challenge to others who, by fate's
hand, can allow the program my gift initiates to form the
endowment necessary for its certain perpetuation." A portion of
his gift will be in matching funds for donors who contribute to a
planned $150 million endowment to support the Odyssey
Scholarship program as part of a larger effort to raise $400
million in new funds for College financial aid. Trustees Emily
Nicklin '75 J.D. '77 and Gregory Wendt '83 have agreed to lead
this campaign for College financial aid.</p>
<p>This extraordinary gift elevates our financial aid program to be
among the most generous in the nation. And the effort we will
undertake to raise additional funds will ensure that Chicago will
remain open to those students most able to benefit from and
contribute to the University, regardless of financial means. I am
deeply grateful to our donor, who told us that his goal "is to
make affordable the extraordinary education the College offers to
those who would otherwise be unable to afford it." We share
that vision and commit to realizing it.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>So, which 1980s Chicago alumnus would have a spare $100 million floating around? In any case this little gift might change Chicago's stingy financial-aid stereotype.</p>