Spartan Profiles: Eli Broad
SOARING SUPPORT FOR MSU
His $20 million gift in 1991 to MSU’s business college, which now bears his name, remains the largest gift by an individual to MSU (see cover story, Fall 1991). Since MSU began its $1.2 billion Campaign For MSU, launched in 2002, Eli Broad, ’54, has pledged another $16.6 million to MSU which includes new endowed positions and scholarships. In November, the Broad Foundation pledged $6 million to fund a partnership between MSU and the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) to recruit and train a new generation of urban teachers.
“Today, I am honored to announce a new initiative that will link the two institutions that did so much for me—the Detroit Public Schools and Michigan State—in an effort to create opportunities for Detroit’s students to transform their lives, their schools and their hometowns,” said Broad at the Detroit Economic Club on Nov. 12. “I want today’s best and brightest Detroit students to become tomorrow’s best and brightest Detroit teachers.”
That Eli Broad has succeeded with his DPS and MSU education is an understatement. A renowned business leader who built two Fortune 500 companies over a five-decade career, Broad is chairman of AIG SunAmerica, Inc., a leading financial services company, and founder and chairman of KB Home, formerly Kaufman and Broad Home Corporation.
A major leader in cultural affairs, Broad was the founding chairman of the board of trustees of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and is currently a trustee and executive committee member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. He spearheaded the drive to build the just opened Walt Disney Concert Hall, a spectacular Frank Gehry design that has vaulted into an international icon and could soon replace the Hollywood sign as the symbol of Los Angeles. Avid supporters of contemporary art, Broad and his wife, Edythe, have created one of the world’s finest art collections. Since 1984, The Broad Art Foundation has lent artworks to more than 400 museums and university galleries worldwide. In 1999, the Broads founded The Broad Foundation, which seeks to improve student achievement with new and innovative ideas.
As the Fall 2002 commencement speaker at MSU, Broad explained his personal commitment to MSU this way:
“Look around this hall. Every county in Michigan; every state in the Union; every faith, every race, and dozens of countries from around the world are represented here. Unlike many other nations, this diversity is our strength. Unlike many other nations, you don’t need to be from the right race, right religion, right class, right background, or right schools to reach the highest levels of business, civic or cultural activities.”
