(Bloomberg) -- Clifford Asness and John Liew, hedge fund managers with five University of Chicago degrees between them, are giving $60 million to their alma mater, days after the school announced a separate $100 million gift.
The co-founders of quant firm AQR Capital Management made the donation to support a master’s in finance program at the Booth School of Business, where both earned MBAs, the school said Tuesday. They also earned Ph.D degrees at the university.
“Their contributions will not only allow future generations to experience the value of a Booth education, but also fortify this new pathway to earning a degree—offering more students the chance to pursue this opportunity at earlier stage in their academic and professional journeys than they might otherwise,” President Paul Alivisatos said in a statement.
Few elite universities have announced multiple mega-donations over the past year. US colleges have been under strain following Hamas’ attack on Israel almost a year ago, as protesters took over college campuses to protest the Jewish state’s retaliation in Gaza.
But the University of Chicago has attracted praise for the way it handled the debate and for its institutional neutrality, ideas that are now being followed at peer schools.
The University of Chicago has also stood out for scholarship at its business school. Since 1982, 10 of Chicago Booth’s faculty members have won Nobel Prizes, including Eugene Fama for research on efficient markets and Douglas Diamond two years ago for his work on banks and financial crises.
Asness serves as managing principal and chief investment officer of AQR; Liew oversees research and portfolio management and is a member of the firm’s executive committee. The master’s in finance program will be renamed in their honor.
“Everyone needs some luck in life, and my great luck was being there when I was,” Asness said in the statement. “This chance to give something back — helping make Chicago for others what it was for me — is beyond gratifying.”
The business school last year received a $100 million gift from Ross Stevens, an alternative asset asset manager who earned his Ph.D there. His gift honored the doctoral program, which was renamed in his honor.
The $100 million gift last week came with an unusual twist for such a large sum, especially one designed to further free speech: The donor chose to remain anonymous.
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