The Carnegie Mellon University has been a major center of systemic training ever since its foundation. The University is all set to receive a payback gift of $ 67 million from billionaire hedge fund manager David. A. Tepper. This is not the first time Mr. Tepper has been encouraging education at the institution, totaling his total gift to an overwhelming $125 million within the last decade. Mr. Tepper has been actively engaging in furthering financial education from his end too, by founding the Appaloosa Management. He is an alumni of the business school and considers these financial gifts as paybacks for the strong foundation provided by the University.
Major education institutions have been much at the receiving end, accumulating huge paybacks from ex-students and other notable figures. The last year has been quite rich for Johns Hopkins in receiving a $350 million pledge from Michael R Bloomberg, ex mayor of New York City. The Yale University received $250 million from billionaire mutual fund manager Charles B. Johnson. The University of Michigan received as $200 million gift from Stephen. M. Ross, notable real estate developer. Another real estate developer Frank H. McCourt Jr. gave $100 million as aids to Georgetown.
Explaining this significant trend, the academic affairs and research associate dean at the noted Philanthropy Lily Family School of Indiana University, Patrick Rooney stated that these gifts reflect a deep sense of financial pride and educational ownership from the donors to their alma maters. The gift from Mr. Tepper would actually earn him the establishment of a David Tepper Quadrangle academic hub at the Pittsburg campus of the University. The benefactor hopes that his financial assistance would aid the university in improving its rankings and reputations. The money would directly fund the construction of a new 300,000 square foot enclosure housing the Tepper Business School. The new enclosure would consist of improved facilities like a café, a fitness center, and large classrooms.
The announcement of the gift coincides with the formal appointment of the new president of Carnegie Mellon, Subra Suresh, who has been informally undertaking the responsibilities since July. Mr. Suresh, coming from a science & engineering background, stressed on the school’s role in fostering effective positive entrepreneurship. He also had been the National Science Foundation director between 2010 and 2013.
Mr. Tepper comes from a middle class upbringing in Pittsburgh. His parents worked as a schoolteacher and an accountant. After attending the University of Pittsburgh, he earned his graduation in Business from Carnegie Mellon. Following a stint in the Goldman Sachs, he begin the Appaloosa Management in 1993, which served as the platform for conducting several high profile bond trading deals. Appaloosa currently claims around $ 20 billion in assets controlling and providing financial security to the management. It is one of the biggest hedge fund initiatives propelling an earning of $2.2 billion in 2012. The veteran hedge fund manager around $ 4 billion in 2009 through placing contrarian bets on the weakened shares of Citigroup and the Bank of America. He also owns a stake in the football team of Pittsburgh Steelers. 
