UCLA Anderson School gets $25 million from namesake

The man whose name is already attached to UCLA’s John E. Anderson Graduate School of Management is giving the school an additional $25 million, on top of nearly $17 million in previous gifts.

UCLA officials Monday announced that the latest gift from businessman and attorney John E. Anderson and his wife, Marion, would benefit academic programs, student aid and faculty research at the management school, which enrolls about 1,800 full- and part-time students in its master’s and doctoral programs. The school was named after Anderson in honor of the couple's first gift, $15 million in 1987.

Anderson is president of Topa Equities Ltd., a conglomerate with holdings in real estate, insurance, agriculture and other industries. He earned his bachelor’s in business administration from UCLA in 1940 and later received an MBA from Harvard and a law degree from Loyola in Los Angeles.

Since last fall, the Anderson school has been at the center of a debate over Dean Judy Olian's proposal to end the school's reliance on dwindling state funds and gradually shift it to financial self-sufficiency through higher tuition and more private donations. The plan, which critics called a step toward privatizing the public university system, is still being reviewed by UC hierarchy.

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-- Larry Gordon

Photo: Bust of John Anderson at UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management. Credit: Rick Meyer / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Brian]

Education should be a privilege not right!
Privatization of public school with high tuition and fees is right direction to go

[SIR GRANT STUDIOS]

Anderson is a sept of the MACDONALD clan.

GETTYMOVIE is dedicated to UCLA Professor Emeritus G. Levine.

[Rosario]

UC's needs to keep public education PUBLIC and AFFORDABLE. It's wonderful to hear such great news for UCLA. Now, let's see UCLA be transparent, responsible, and wise in handling such an amazing donation.

[Paul Tibete]

Education is a right! Our public education system is the reason why our country is so great. We are a Super Power because of the public education system. Everyone living in our borders needs to be educated for the sake of our country. What kind of country would be if only 10% of the population were educated?

[Austin]

Response to Brian who wrote, "Education should be a privilege not right! ..."

Listen moron, (probably a U.S-u.C alum), you have an asinine view of the world, and especially about public education.

Look no further than Mexico (or any other nation that can't get out of 3rd world status), a place where only the affluent and powerful can afford to educate their children. If you're born poor, well tough your parents shouldn't have had you, you are condemned to go to school in dilapidated buildings to learn from outdated text books.

Do royal A-holes like yourself really want this country to become a Mexico, in terms of education?

Peace!

[Bob Pinkus]

In 2005 while writing for a community newspaper in Palmdale I covered the annual forecast from the Anderson School to the real estate industry in the Antelope Valley.

The expert speaker's (no need to mention any names) message was basically, "If you've got dirt, you've got room to expand" and though there are some problems with the economy, areas with room for expansion will do very well over the next few years.

He went on to state that the problematic areas were those more fully developed with expensive properties, especially coastal areas. Those he thought were most vulnerable.

Obviously, he was completely wrong.

What came to be known as "sub-prime" loans had become standard. From about 5% of total sales in 2003, the number of sub prime sales had risen to over 40% by the end of 2004.

Made me wonder about the Anderson School.

[Thomas]

Universities need to balance public support, support from businesses, private support from donators, and support from students. Unless the financial support of one specific source imposes influence in the governance of a university (or graduate school) there is nothing wrong about it.