Berkeley Trustee Gifts $1M to Endow Haas Scholarship Fund

UC Berkeley Trustee Dato’ Sri Dr. Tahir has given $1 million to the Haas School of Business for a new endowment fund to provide scholarships to international MBA students primarily from Asia, the school announced earlier this week.

International students have had limited access to U.S. loans for the past three years, as most lenders now require a U.S. citizen or permanent resident as co-cosigner. The Tahir Fellowship Endowment Fund will help the Haas School attract more Asian applicants to its full-time Berkeley MBA Program.

The MBA admissions office will identify prospective scholarship recipients, and the amount of awards will be flexible and dependent on available funds. The school says that each gift will be matched by the UC Berkeley Graduate Fellowships Matching Program.

Tahir, who joined the Berkeley Board of Trustees as its first trustee from Southeast Asia in 2007, says Indonesians view UC Berkeley as one of the top business school destinations. “I hope that the fellowship fund will set an example of giving back, especially for students who benefit from the fellowship,” says Tahir. “When they graduate and become successful in business, I hope they will remember their appreciation for the fellowship and will give to support another fellowship fund.”

Haas School’s Dean Rich Lyons expressed his gratitude for Tahir’s contribution, saying, “Top business schools compete intensely to attract the very best students in the market, and diversity, including international student representation, is an important goal. Dr. Tahir’s gift will greatly improve our ability to achieve this goal.”