Tata Group gifts 50 mn to Harvard

It comes days after Anand Mahindra,Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Mahindra and Mahindra Group,gave USD 10 million to the Humanities Centre at Harvard. A Harvard alumnus,Mahindra gave the gift,the 8220;largest8221; in the Centre8217;s history,in honour of his mother Indira Mahindra.

Ratan Tata,Chairman of Tata Sons,attended Harvard8217;s Advanced Management Programme 8212; one of three comprehensive leadership programmes offered by the Harvard Business School8217;s HBS8217; Executive Education 8212; in 1975.

He had also received the School8217;s highest honour,the Alumni Achievement Award,in 1995.

The School said it will use the USD 50 million gift from the Tata Group to fund a new academic and residential building on its campus for participants in its broad portfolio of Executive Education programmes.

HBS hopes to break ground for the building,which will be named Tata Hall,next spring. It is expected to be open for use by late 2013.

Calling it a privilege and a pleasure to 8220;give back to Harvard a little bit of what it gave to me,8221; Tata said he hoped the new facility would encourage and inspire future leaders to take advantage of the executive education offerings at HBS.

8220;The Harvard Business School is the preeminent place to be exposed to the world8217;s best thinking on management and leadership and we are pleased that this gift will support the School8217;s educational mission to mold the next generation of global business leaders,8221; Tata said.

Expressing 8220;deep appreciation8221; for Tata8217;s 8220;generosity,8221; Harvard Business School8217;s Indian-origin Dean Nitin Nohria said the 8220;historic8221; gift comes from an organisation 8220;revered8221; for its significant economic,civic and philanthropic impact.

8220;The Tata Group is widely respected for integrity and innovation,not just in India where it produced both the first indigenous car and the 2,000 dollar Tata Nano automobile 8212; but in a variety of business lines across several continents,from cars to hotels and from tea to information technology,8221; Nohria said.

Harvard University President Drew Faust said Tata knows 8220;firsthand the transformative educational opportunities8221; offered through the School8217;s Executive Education programmes.

8220;Thanks to this generous gift,HBS will be able to expand its already robust offerings in Executive Education,deepening ties with leaders across the country and around the globe.8221;

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino,who joined Tata and Nohria for the announcement today,said the 50 million dollar gift will help create jobs in the city.

HBS launched the Advanced Management Programme,the world8217;s first Executive Education programme,in 1945.

More than 9,000 business leaders from around the world enrol in the Executive Education programmes at HBS as well as in off-campus locations each year,participating in a range of comprehensive and custom programmes.

Currently,more than 50 per cent of participants are from outside the US and enrol in over 75 open enrolment Executive Education programmes and more than 60 custom programmes.

Tata earned a degree in architecture from Cornell University in 1962. He had given an endowment of USD 50 million to Cornell in 2008 for agriculture and nutrition programmes and for the education of Indian students at Cornell.

He was named one of the 30 most respected CEOs in the world by Barron8217;s magazine in 2007,the same year the Tata Group was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy.

In 2008,he was named one of Time magazine8217;s 100 Most Influential People.