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CHINA MILLENNIUM COUNCIL Events Calendar Year 2011
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RATAN TATA ICONIC GLOBAL INNOVATOR AND EDUCATIONAL LEADER
Philanthropy as a means of promoting higher education and research was a novel concept, even in the United States, at the end of the 19th century. Over generations, the Tata family established a pioneering innovation of bequeathing much of their personal wealth to the numerous trusts created originally for the greater good of India, its people and now for global sustainability. The trusteeship principle governing the Tata group is characterized as capitalistic by definition but socialistic by nature. India has an old tradition of philanthropy, passed on down the ages by kings, noblemen and rich merchants. Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the Tata group, gave new meaning to this term. In his words: "There is one kind of charity common enough among us. It is that patchwork philanthropy which clothes the ragged, feeds the poor, and heals the sick. What advances a nation or a community is not so much to prop up its weakest and most helpless members, but to lift up the best and the most gifted, so as to make them of the greatest service to the country." Subsequently, the JN Tata Endowment for higher education was established in 1892 and supported gifted students of moderate means become administrators, scientists, doctors, lawyers and engineers, funding their higher education. When Sir Ratan died in 1918 at the young age of forty-seven. he left directives in his will for his personal wealth to be used for basic and advanced education, primary and preventive health, rural livelihood and communities, art and culture and public initiatives. The JRD Tata Trust, established in 1944, provided institutional donations to promote the advancement of learning, supporting research grants and scholarships. The MK Tata Trust, set up in 1958 by Minocher K Tata with his personal resources, delivers research grants and scholarships for the advancement of learning in all its branches. The Jamsetji Tata Trust, established in 1974 marked the centenary of the first Tata enterprise, bestows grants for innovation. The Tata Social Welfare Trust and the Tata Education Trust were founded in 1990 and provides grants for institution maintenance and support of education institutes, hospitals and non-governmental organizations NGOs working in the sectors of livelihoods and management of natural resources. Projects must be aimed towards sustainability for the global community. Ratan Tata, an illustrious Cornell University alumni and trustee, donated an endowment of $50 million from the Tata Education and Development Trust, to establish the Tata-Cornell Initiative in Agriculture and Nutrition, which will contribute to advances in nutrition and agriculture for India; and the Tata Scholarship Fund for Students from India, to help attract more of the best and brightest students to Cornell from India. Moreover, Tata donated $50 million to the prestigious Harvard Business School and fund a new building to support a broad range of executive education programs. Notably recognized as the “largest international donation in its 102-year history” at the Ivy League School. Ratan Tata enrolled in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1975. “It is a privilege and pleasure to give back to Harvard a little bit of what it gave to me,” said Tata. “We are pleased this gift will support the school’s educational mission to mould the next generation of global business leaders. Dean of the Business School, Nitin Nohria remarked, “This is an historic gift from a renowned organization revered for its significant economic, civic, and philanthropic impact. The Tata Group is widely respected for integrity and innovation, not just in India, but in a variety of business lines across several continents, from cars to hotels and from tea to information technology.” Successful and enduring capacity-building partnerships mandate more visibility of Asian American leadership in governance and policy-making platforms and processes in U.S. higher education.
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