<p>If you haven't heard the latest news over the competition to build a new tech campus in NYC, let me inform you that an anonymous donor gave Cornell $350 million for its bid to win the competition, right after Stanford declared it was dropping out of the race. Looks like Cornell is now the favorite.
Cornell</a> Gets $350 Million Gift for High-Tech Campus in City, and Stanford Drops Bid - NYTimes.com</p>
<p>How does one give a donation anonymously? Did, perhaps, Cornell receive an anonymous check in the mail for $350 million?</p>
<p>Obviously someone at Cornell knows who it is, but I’m guessing that they asked not to be identified to the public.</p>
<p>wow… 350 million donation… if cornell doesn’t end up winning this thing, shame on them for real.</p>
<p>Wow! Quite an expression of confidence in the project! I wonder if any American university has ever receved a larger gift?</p>
<p>I don’t know at all, but wouldn’t it make sense that it would be Sandy Weill? He’s an alumnus who previously gave Cornell $250 million of his own as part of a $400 million donation he orchestrated, funded the cell and molecular biology life sciences center, and sold an apartment for $88 million then gave it all away, </p>
<p>Aside from Bloomberg, Gates, and a few others, there aren’t many people with that kind of cash to throw around and fewer targeting Cornell.</p>
<p>@applejack – I don’t have any inside information about who this tech campus donor may be either, but there is another amazing benefactor who fits the bill: Chuck Feeney. He is the Cornell alumnus who made billions as the founder of the Duty Free Shoppers Group. He went on later in life to establish the Atlantic Philanthropies foundation – one of the best-funded philanthropic groups in the world. He’s given many hundred of millions to Cornell already, but is largely overlooked due to his propensity for privacy and anonymity.</p>
<p>is Cornell really going to win this thing? If they fail to win this competition, that benefactor should get his donations back, seriously</p>
<p>also - I REALLY want Cornell to win this competition. As an alum who will be living in NYC, I would love to see Cornell’s network, prominence, reach, and influence grow in Manhattan. </p>
<p>Noting that Stanford dropped out of this competition, i think Cornell is the only serious contender as of now. I heard Stanford dropped out of this project because it would cost too much money/ endowment to pursue this project… Hopefully Cornell won’t go bankrupt for pursuing this project</p>
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<p>OMG, sounds like a fiercely loyal alum… I think Cornell is really lucky to have many of these very successful and loyal alums. Cornell alumni presence on the street in big finance/ big consulting/ big law in nyc is huge. not too many other universities can say the same</p>
<p>Maybe I’ve drunk the kool aid, but I really think this could be the game-changer Cornell’s been needing to really establish itself in the top echelon. As other science / engineering schools have driven the tech industry, its isolation has really kept it out of the game in any major way. I don’t know if it could emerge as the east coast’s answer to Stanford and Silicon Valley, but that would sure position the school well.</p>
<p>I don’t know if NYC can replicate itself as the second Silicon Valley, hence resulting in Cornell tasting the same magnitude of success as Stanford did in nor Cal.</p>
<p>NYC culture is very different from SV and it could be a difficult environment to encourage dozens of start ups within technology sector. NYC is essentially a hub of high-end consulting/ high-end law/ finance/ IB/ PE/ HF, and VC or tech sector as of now are tiny in NYC. SF/ SV are very laid back culturally, more accepting of start-up culture, VC industry is huge, all resulting in encouraging tech start ups. I am sure Stanford capitalized on this and made huge success out of it… NYC would be a tough spot for the tech/ start-up industry to thrive in. </p>
<p>There is a reason why none of the big tech firms - Google, Microsoft, Youtube, IBM, facebook, Apple, Cisco, Amazon, Boeing, etc are headquartered in NYC, or in East Cost - for that matter</p>
<p>Personally, I’d be shocked if Cornell didn’t win the competition. Ever since the beginning Cornell and Stanford had been the favorites. Their proposal were more ambitious than any of the other competitors. Now that Stanford is gone, Cornell’s chances are very high now.</p>
<p>You’re right, Lazykid. I didn’t mean to suggest a carbon copy of SV. I think the broad services will always anchor out there but Cornell / NY could establish a niche catering to the needs of the various industries anchored in NYC.</p>
<p>Hopefully this will help put Cornell in the top 10 National University Ranking and top 5 for Engineering Ranking as they hope to be (We are already pretty close as of now)…</p>
<p>Yay! Then cornell is more sciency than ever.
I don’t think we’ll feel the impact of this project very soon though.<br>
The “gift” is probably from stanford. We are bestest buddies after all.</p>
<p>Let’s Go RED!</p>
<p>I thought it was interesting that the mayoral aides had to quickly comment that the donor was not Bloomberg!</p>
<p>IMHO this sort of new tech campus is right up Cornell’s alley and is allied with its history and mission – and will enhance both the university and New York City.</p>
<p>Cornell is definitely the better choice. It will be a nice bump for school’s standing. But Bloomberg is delusional for thinking there’s going to be some startup culture emerging out of this. The MIT-Harvard nexus couldn’t position Route 128 to compete against SV and Stanford and they’ve had far more time and resources. A remote campus isn’t going to pull off what Cambridge couldn’t. Especially when said campus is so close to Wall Street, which has always served as a black hole that drains engineering talent by luring graduates with far higher salaries.</p>
<p>If it is given without fanfare and anonymously then I guess it is probably Chuck Feeney. Through third party estimates he has donated over $700 million to Cornell over his life time and does not have a single building named after him. He never acknowledges whether he has or has not given any money to Cornell. Even his autobiography states that Cornell has given him much more than he can ever give back but never states whether he has given anything at all to Cornell.</p>
<p>Cornell Wins:</p>
<p>[Cornell</a> Wins Campus Bid - WSJ.com](<a href=“Cornell Wins Campus Bid - WSJ”>Cornell Wins Campus Bid - WSJ)</p>
<p>[Cornell</a> Wins Campus Bid - WSJ.com](<a href=“Cornell Wins Campus Bid - WSJ”>Cornell Wins Campus Bid - WSJ)</p>
<p>Interesting quote from the article:</p>
<p>When Stanford withdrew from the competition, several people familiar with the negotiations said the university preferred to quit than lose. Stanford officials saw the “writing on the wall,” said one person familiar with the negotiations.</p>