The Villanova School of Business has just announced that it has received a $50 million dollar gift from alumnus James C. Davis ’81 and his wife. Davis is the founder of a private staffing company called Allegis Group. The gift is the largest gift to the university in Villanova’s 170 year history.
The gift is unusual because it is not a naming gift. Often, when individuals give millions of dollars to a school in a single gift, a building, landmark, or even a college is named for the donor. However, Davis wants to pay Villanova back for his “values-based education” by providing money for new technologies, improved career advising, scholarships, and new study abroad and internship opportunities.
The money aims to increase opportunities for students. Some of it will be used to provide a stipend for students who want to take an unpaid internship, allowing students to find great internships without having to worry about whether the job will pay them. Since Villanova intends to make internships a requirement, this money could be invaluable for students. Administrators also hope to use the money to help more students study abroad, and to provide more scholarships to encourage students to attend Villanova.
The money is also earmarked to increase the school’s technological abilities. Villanova hopes to outfit classrooms with 80 inch touch screens and smaller screens for linking to other classrooms or to student computers in the classroom. The school will use funds to expand Villanova’s Bloomberg finance lab so they can require students to become Bloomberg certified.
Davis’ gift comes at the beginning of Villanova’s $600 million capital campaign. The school began the campaign last weekend, and it has already raised $280 million. $90 million dollars of the capital campaign, including Davis’ donation, is designated for the Villanova School of Business.