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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 1999
Thomas
J. Klutznick
Chicago Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
Pledges $5 Million Gift to Kickoff Oberlin College
Campaign
Media Contact: Scott Wargo
Oberlin, Ohio--Oberlin College trustee Thomas J. Klutznick recently took on another major commitment--this one to his alma mater. He has volunteered to co-chair Oberlin's forthcoming comprehensive campaign. To back up that commitment--and to inspire others to commit themselves to ensuring Oberlin's excellence into the new millennium--he has pledged a campaign gift of $5 million and designated a portion of it for scholarships for low-income students from inner-city schools.
The campaign, which will be formally announced in July, will be the largest fund-raising effort in Oberlin's history. The primary building project of the campaign is to raise construction and endowment funds for a new science center at the College. Other broad goals are to strengthen the endowment for faculty salaries and student scholarships; to fund major building needs; to enhance Oberlin's academic programs; and to increase the level of annual giving to the College.
"Education is the key to breaking out of the cycle of poverty," Klutznick said. "I want my gift to Oberlin to open opportunities to students who otherwise wouldn't have dreamed of pursuing an Oberlin education."
Klutznick, Class of '61, also wants to help Oberlin maintain its diverse community. "Oberlin holds a unique place in American higher education," he noted. "Because it has always valued diversity--it has always admitted students regardless of race--Oberlin looks like America. But without scholarships to assist low-income students, Oberlin risks losing the very diversity that traditionally has been one of its greatest strengths," he said.
An Oberlin College trustee since 1975, he is president of Thomas J. Klutznick Company, a privately held real estate investment and development firm in Chicago. During his career, Klutznick has been responsible for the development of more than 30 million square feet of space in 15 cities across the country. His projects include such landmarks as Water Tower Place in Chicago, Copley Place in Boston, and Reston Town Center in Reston, Virginia.
His firm is currently developing a retail and hotel complex on the Magnificent Mile of Chicago's North Michigan Avenue.
The Oberlin ethos of social engagement has been an important influence in Klutznick's life. "In my line of work, it's possible to see only the upscale and the glamorous," he said. "It would be easy for me to overlook the pressing problems of crime, lack of opportunity, drug abuse, and general deterioration of the inner cities in this country. But I can't. I have to be involved, to work to make a difference in this world. It's a philosophy that was instilled in me at Oberlin."
Strengthening relationships between Oberlin and the people whose lives have been touched by the College is one of the main reasons Klutznick has taken on this new challenge. "I want this campaign to reach out and touch every Oberlinian, to strengthen the ties and relationships, to make them proud to be associated with Oberlin College."