Ratan Tata donates $50 million to Cornell

21 October 2008

Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has donated $50 million (approximately Rs240 crore) to his alma mater, the 143-old Cornell University in New York where he graduated as an architect in 1959.

Alumnus Ratan Tata and President David Skorton after signing their historic agreement that will provide an endowment of $50 million to Cornell for agriculture and nutrition programs in India and for the education of Indian students at Cornell. Robert Barker/University Photography

The endowment was made through the Tata Education and Development Trust, a philanthropic entity of the Tata Group on 17 October and an agreement on the endowment was signed by Ratan Tata, and David Skorton, president of the Cornell University early this week.

David Skorton announced the gift during his State of the University address the same day, calling it "one of the most generous endowments ever received from an international benefactor by an American university."

As per the agreement, the endowment consists of $25 million to establish the Tata-Cornell Initiative in Agriculture and Nutrition. This will contribute to advances in nutrition and agriculture for India.

The goal of the new agriculture initiative is to improve the productivity, sustainability and profitability of India's food system, with the aim of reducing poverty and malnutrition, said Alice Pell, Cornell vice provost for international relations.

The other $25 million is set for the Tata Scholarship Fund for Students from India, to help attract more of the best and brightest students to Cornell from India.