UChicago and Obama Foundation announce Obama Foundation Scholars

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
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The Obama Foundation and the University of Chicago on Feb. 28 announced the Obama Foundation Scholars Program, a new program at the Harris School of Public Policy to support the next generation of leaders making an impact on issues in their communities and around the world.

Students in the Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Harris will pursue a master’s degree with an emphasis on international development and policy. Students also will participate in a range of leadership activities outside the classroom led by the Obama Foundation. Some of these foundation activities will include experiences throughout Chicago and the South Side. By engaging with the local community, students will have the opportunity to complement what they learn in the classroom and also to bring their unique perspectives to Chicago.

The program will provide rising leaders from across the globe with the skills, tools and experiences to expand the impact of their work at home. It will build relationships that reach across issues and borders, and build a global network that is committed to working together on solutions to address the most pressing challenges of our time.

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https://news.uchicago.edu/article/2018/02/28/uchicago-obama-foundation-announce-program-emerging-leaders-around-world

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Is there a set endowment for this? Didn’t see a $ amount in the article. But full tuition and stipend for 25 students (two year program? PhD program?) isn’t peanuts.

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^^Nvm. Looks like it’s a one-year specialized Master’s.

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It looks like it will come from the Foundation’s endowment and not a donation to the school. That’s a good strategy, especially since if added to the school’d endowment, it may raise the school’s endowment to a taxable level based on the endowment per student metric (I read this somewhere, its part of the Trum tax reforms…).

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^^ yes, that is a part of the recently-passed tax reform. From the WSJ, “The tax applies only to private schools with at least 500 students and at least $500,000 of investments per student.” I won’t link because there’s a paywall but the article is dated 1/19 and is entitled “Which Colleges Will Have to Pay Taxes on Their Endowment? Your Guess Might Not Be Right (Small liberal arts colleges could take a hit from a new tax on investments, while some wealthy universities will avoid payments in the near-term)”.

Based on a graphic in the article:

"Escaping the Bill

Some of the private schools with endowments greater than $2 billion may avoid a new tax on investments because they are worth less than $500,000 per student.

Emory University $475,355

Wash. Univ. in St. Louis 454,729

Duke University 444,632

Univ. of Pennsylvania 442,601

University of Chicago 422,389

Northwestern Univ. 383,791

Vanderbilt University 329,822

Columbia University 326,273

Brown University 316,565

201,677 Cornell University

Boston College 163,403

Johns Hopkins Univ. 143,707

Univ. of Southern Calif. 117,551

New York University 73,147

Note: Figures are from 2016; detailed tax rules still must be written. Subsequent endowment growth will likely push some colleges over the $500,000 threshold. Enrollment figures are adjusted for the number of part-time students.

Source: Education Department"

Might not be a bad idea to structure some gifts as a foundation stream of scholarship revenue rather than a lump-sum gift. Think of Stanford with the K-H Endowment of $750 million, which doesn’t help its almost $1.4 mil / student average!!! For those soon to bump against the limit, growing the student body and restructuring the way some gifts are given in the future might be the way to go.