Lehigh receives $34.2 million gift

Another example of the evil rich helping the community and those students who could not otherwise afford a decent education.

David-1206 wrote:

Another example of the evil rich helping the community and those students who could not otherwise afford a decent education.

yOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG - Really does Lehigh need this money - There is better use for it for all Americans or Human kind rarther than a few attending Lehigh which has a billion plus endowment fund. I would have left it to the Gates foundation myself.

Certainly, go ahead and give as much money as you like to the Gates Foundation, I think it's a worthy organization.

But I think you are very judgmental and petty to be criticizing how someone else donates their own money, and very shortsighted too. It may well be a low-income student that was able to attend a place like Lehigh on scholarship that ultimately invents a cure for AIDS or the other diseases the Gates Foundation is trying to cure. Foundations can donate all the money they want, but if there are not smart, educated people to use the money effectively it is wasted. Not to mention the overall societal benefits of increasing our overall education level.

KNOW IT ALL wrote:

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yOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG - Really does Lehigh need this money - There is better use for it for all Americans or Human kind rarther than a few attending Lehigh which has a billion plus endowment fund. I would have left it to the Gates foundation myself.

laughs wrote:

Certainly, go ahead and give as much money as you like to the Gates Foundation, I think it's a worthy organization.
But I think you are very judgmental and petty to be criticizing how someone else donates their own money, and very shortsighted too. It may well be a low-income student that was able to attend a place like Lehigh on scholarship that ultimately invents a cure for AIDS or the other diseases the Gates Foundation is trying to cure. Foundations can donate all the money they want, but if there are not smart, educated people to use the money effectively it is wasted. Not to mention the overall societal benefits of increasing our overall education level.
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This is assuming that Lehigh and other educational institutions truly give as many scholarships. The last time I checked Lehigh was one of the stingiest universities in this area.

I think it is great that he is giving the money who deserve it.

Not just giving to someone who will not agree to pay it back when they are able. It inforces the idea of 'PAYING IT FORWARD' to the betterment of others.

The donor has directed that the money is for a dedicated endowment for student scholarships. Whether Lehigh is in your opinion stingy or not really doesn't come into play.

KNOW IT ALL wrote:

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This is assuming that Lehigh and other educational institutions truly give as many scholarships. The last time I checked Lehigh was one of the stingiest universities in this area.

Here we have another do-gooder that is upset because someone donated money and it didn't benefit them. What makes you such a F'ing expert on how people should donate their money anyway?

LU is the stingiest? Where are your citations and references backing up your ridiculous assertions?

Congrats to LU and the students on this great gift. It is unbelievable how selfish people can complain about something such as this because in reality the only reason they are doing so is because it doesn't directly benefit them. Sour grapes by the whiners.

KNOW IT ALL wrote:

<quoted text>
yOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG - Really does Lehigh need this money - There is better use for it for all Americans or Human kind rarther than a few attending Lehigh which has a billion plus endowment fund. I would have left it to the Gates foundation myself.

KNOW IT ALL wrote:

<quoted text>
yOU HAVE IT ALL WRONG - Really does Lehigh need this money - There is better use for it for all Americans or Human kind rarther than a few attending Lehigh which has a billion plus endowment fund. I would have left it to the Gates foundation myself.

How many billions does the Gates foundation have? How does an alumnus benefit his own school by giving it to a third-party organization? Who are we to judge what's a "better use" for anyone else's gift?

Save the vegetables wrote:

Here we have another do-gooder that is upset because someone donated money and it didn't benefit them. What makes you such a F'ing expert on how people should donate their money anyway?
LU is the stingiest? Where are your citations and references backing up your ridiculous assertions?
Congrats to LU and the students on this great gift. It is unbelievable how selfish people can complain about something such as this because in reality the only reason they are doing so is because it doesn't directly benefit them. Sour grapes by the whiners.
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Amen.
As a recipient of Lehigh's generousity I can personally vouch for the impact that these types of philanthropy have on disadvantaged families. There was no way that my family could have sent me to Lehigh, but through financial assistance I was able to attend. I didn't get a complete free ride, I had a combination of loans and grants, but the outstanding education I received enabled me to land a job with a Fortune 100 company. Having a good job changed the future for my children. Their grandfather was a laborer and they will have the opportunity to be a professional.

Thank you Mr. Stabler for creating the opportunity for others.

Give a man a fish and he'll be back tomorrow. Teach him to fish and ....

i AM SORRY FOR NOT HAVING COMMUNICATED BETTER --- The 34 million by the story's account will add to its already a BILLION plus dollars to its endownment fund. As the article states it will double or triple from 32 the number of students it helps. Also the last paragraph states that their new 'no loans' policy for lower income families will cost 3 million annualy and they will have to embark on raising 500 million to be able to afford that.
So all i am stating is that all these top tier universities (of which i am a product) have these several BILLION $ funds but they ise maybe less than 1 % of it -- even less than what they earn. Really now does annual tution, room and board need to be $ 48000

The use of endowment funds is based on IRS regulations for non-profits. Generally, about 5% of endowment funds are used each year by most universities. Some years that is much less than the endowment makes, other years it is more.

The $34 million in this case is not just "added to the endowment", it is specifically set aside for the designated use of Stabler scholarships.

For many universities like Lehigh, on average only a little more than half the advertised tuition rate is actually received by the university; this is called tuition yield. The rest of the tuition is waived for academic, need-based, and athletic scholarships. It means that the students from wealthy families (and many foreign students who are sponsored by their companies or governments) pay the full tuition and essentially subsidize those receiving scholarships. The 5% each year from the unrestricted portion of the endowment also helps subsidize those scholarships, as well as capital projects and other operational expenses.

What's wrong with large endowments, funded by grateful graduates? It helps make a private university self-sustainable, compared to public colleges and universities that need taxpayer funding year after year. If the endowment grows large enough like it has at Stanford, harvard, Penn and a few others, it even means that admitted students from all families making less than $100K can attend tuition-free.

Why begrudge this?

KNOW IT ALL wrote:

i AM SORRY FOR NOT HAVING COMMUNICATED BETTER --- The 34 million by the story's account will add to its already a BILLION plus dollars to its endownment fund. As the article states it will double or triple from 32 the number of students it helps. Also the last paragraph states that their new 'no loans' policy for lower income families will cost 3 million annualy and they will have to embark on raising 500 million to be able to afford that.
So all i am stating is that all these top tier universities (of which i am a product) have these several BILLION $ funds but they ise maybe less than 1 % of it -- even less than what they earn. Really now does annual tution, room and board need to be $ 48000