Dive Brief:
- The University of Wisconsin-Madison has received its largest-ever gift from individual donors: $100 million from Cisco Systems Inc. CEO John Morgridge and his wife, Tashia.
- The donation will be used with matching gifts for endowments for professorships and chair positions as a part of faculty recruiting, the Associated Press reported.
- Both Morgridges are 1995 graduates of the university — John graduated from the university’s business school, and Tashia was an education major and worked as a special education teacher.
Dive Insight:
The Morgridges signed the “giving pledge” — a promise to give away at least half of their wealth — endorsed by philanthropists like Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. The university will use the $100 million gift to kick off a new fundraising campaign, to start in 2015 or 2016, with the Morgridges chairing the campaign’s planning committee. The couple has already given $100 million in incremental gifts for research at the university and more than $32 million for construction on a school of education building.