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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.
ARCHIVES
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Cornell Trustee
Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group, and Cornell Alumna Mary Ho, China Millennium Council President
Discourse At Cornell University's School of Architecture, Art and Planning
Symposium The Debut of "Unpacking The Nano" Exhibit at the Johnson
Museum of Art in Ithaca, New York.

An Aviation
Enthusiast Who Flies his Own Jets, Ratan Tata Co-Piloted the F/A-18 Super
Hornet During the Inauguration Ceremony of the Aero India Air Show in
Bangalore India on February 2011.
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