Carrying the Torch

Visionary Donors Empowering NYU to Transform Our World

Albert Gallatin envisioned this university as an institution accessible to all, and scholarships are key to making his paramount goal a reality. The three gifts showcased here will enable deserving students to pursue their passions regardless of socioeconomic background and, in turn, to contribute to solving society’s most vexing challenges. The gifts also help NYU stay at the forefront of innovation and maintain its reputation as a center of academic and research excellence. Simply put, these acts of extraordinary generosity are cause for both gratitude and hope for the future.

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THE BENEFACTORS
William R. & Marjorie Berkley

THE GIFT
$50 million

THE MISSION
To broaden access to a business education

THE RECIPIENT
Stern School of Business

THE PROGRAM
Berkley Achievement Scholars Program

THE VISION
William R. (STERN ’66) and Marjorie Berkley’s gift will cover tuition for more than 60 undergraduates at any given time with financial need. Selected students will come from all over the United States, representing a full cross section of the country. William Berkley began giving back to his alma mater shortly after graduation, and his transformative generosity and ongoing service over the following five decades has largely been driven by his own personal experience. In addition to being elected chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, he serves on the NYU Langone Health Board of Trustees and is chair emeritus of Stern’s Executive Board. “I was the beneficiary of a scholarship that gave me the chance of a lifetime to study tuition-free,” says Berkley. “I often think about this extraordinary opportunity that dramatically impacted the path of my life, and I am fortunate to be able to pay it forward. Empowering people changes the world.”  

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THE BENEFACTOR
Leonard N. Stern

THE GIFT
$50 million

THE MISSION
To provide undergraduate scholarships

THE RECIPIENT
Stern School of Business

THE PROGRAM
Breakthrough Scholars Leadership Program

THE VISION
A gift in 2015 from Leonard Stern (STERN ’57, ’59) created this program, which offers full financial, academic, and professional development support with the goal of making college accessible to students in need. His latest gift provides for the initiative’s expansion. Breakthrough equips members with the skills and networks necessary to succeed at Stern and beyond. The program has been impactful, with graduation rates of 100 percent in each of the three classes to date. These scholars have also taken on leadership positions, including president of the student council and Stern’s commencement speaker, and gone on to have impressive professional careers. “Students who have exceptional ability and fortitude but lack the resources for a world-class education deserve to have the doors open to them,” says Stern. “I encourage others to take on the challenge of access to education and change the lives of talented and deserving young people.”

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THE BENEFACTOR
Bloomberg Philanthropies

THE GIFT
$25 million

THE MISSION
To foster government and NPO leaders

THE RECIPIENT
Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

THE PROGRAM
Georgina and Charlotte Bloomberg Public Service Fellowship

THE VISION
With Bloomberg Philanthropies’ magnanimous offering—the largest gift to Wagner from a single donor—up to 20 students a year will receive full tuition, paid internships, and mentoring to ensure that economic barriers don’t prevent them from joining the next generation of diverse government and nonprofit leaders. Named after the daughter and mother of former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, the competitive two-year graduate program will serve to further cement the world-class reputation of Wagner, which was ranked first in Urban Policy and second in Health Policy and Management by US News & World Report. “NYU gave [my daughter] Georgina (GAL ’10) and her grandmother, my mother, Charlotte (STERN 1929), so much,” says Bloomberg. “So it means a lot to our entire family to expand opportunities for some of the university’s brightest and most public-spirited students.”