A $10 million alumni pledge from a major fashion house co-founder will support the expansion of an institute devoted to global business at Columbia Business School (CBS), the school announced today. Jerome A. Chazen (MBA ’50), co-founder and chairman emeritus of Liz Claiborne Inc., attributes a large part of the company’s success to its willingness to do business overseas. In 1990, he donated what was then the largest gift in CBS’s history to establish the Chazen Institute, which has since coordinated all of the school’s major international programs. The influx of additional funding will position the institute to deepen and expand upon its initiatives, as well as launch new ones.
In recognition of the generous gift, the center is also being rechristened. Instead of the Chazen Institute of International Business, it will now be called the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business.
“The institute’s new name reflects the school’s and the university’s vision for a more interconnected and interdisciplinary approach to global education and research—one that transcends not only geographical borders to build mutually beneficial relationships, but also disciplinary structures to advance learning and knowledge,” CBS Dean Glenn Hubbard said in a statement.
The gift will enhance the institute’s existing activities—which include conferences and symposia, global study tours, Global Immersion courses, student exchanges, visiting scholar programs and foreign language training—while also increasing its global visibility. Additionally, the gift will fund new initiatives, including a Chazen Research Fellows program through which visiting faculty members will come to CBS to conduct research, develop courses and cases and share their expertise in globalization.
“I have tremendous confidence in the institute’s ongoing ability to elevate the academic conversation on globalization, weaving it throughout the school’s activities,” Chazen said in a statement. “I believe in the institute’s capacity to be a top resource for thought leadership on globalization.”
Extending its reach beyond the CBS campus, the Chazen Institute also publishes a widely read e-newsletter, Chazen Global Insights, and has hosted regional conferences in China, India and Latin America. It also continues to produce a series of case studies and has secured partnerships with institutions around the world, the school notes.
Learn more about the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business at Columbia Business School.
