Chicago Booth Alumnus Dave Chenn Gives $10M for Key University Priorities
Chicago Booth School of Business alumnus Dave Liguang Chenn (MBA 2000) has gifted the university $10 million for several priority initiatives at both the University of Chicago and the Booth School of Business, the school announced this week.
The new University of Chicago Center in Hong Kong—slated to open in July 2018—will receive $3 million of Chenn’s total gift. The Center houses Chicago Booth’s Executive MBA Program in Asia, College study abroad programs, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Programme on Social Innovation, and faculty research projects.
Chenn’s gift will also provide scholarship support for both graduate business students and undergraduate students, with $2 million going to scholarships for full-time MBA students at Chicago Booth, and an additional $2 million directed toward the College’s Odyssey Scholarship Program for undergraduate students.
“This generous gift will have a transformational and lasting impact on areas of great need at the College and of high priority at the university and Chicago Booth.”— Dean Madhav Rajan.
“The Center in Hong Kong is pivotal to the university’s and Booth’s Asia strategy. Scholarships allow us to attract the most talented students, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. And the Innovation Fund supports ventures that have the potential to benefit society for years to come. We are deeply grateful for Dave’s vision and philanthropy,” Rajan added.
Finally, Chenn’s gift will provide $3 million to the UChicago Innovation Fund, which is managed by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Innovation Fund provides proof-of-concept funding to UChicago-affiliated ventures and technologies that have the greatest promise to drive societal impact. The Innovation Fund fills a critical gap in venture funding, providing early capital that is often unavailable, helping bring groundbreaking ideas to market.
“Since my graduation from Chicago Booth many years ago, I have always appreciated the values and the principles that had been taught in this fine institution and the many great lifelong friends I had met there,” Chenn said.
“I hope my contributions will help the university and Booth to attract the best students from around the world, and enhance their global impact, particularly in Asia, with the new campus in Hong Kong.”
A 2000 Booth graduate, Chenn is the founder, CEO, and managing partner of Oceanpine Capital, an equity investment management firm focusing on growth companies across all stages. He also is founder and chairman of China Century Group, a multinational company headquartered in Beijing, China, with business and subsidiaries in China, Southeast Asia, and the U.S.
