College and Darden alumnus U. Bertram Ellis, Jr. and his wife Deborah donated $10 million to the University during Reunions Weekend. Bertram, chair and CEO of iXL Enterprises, specified that the gift be split between the two schools where he had studied.
Ellis, who graduated from the College in 1975 and received his MBA from Darden in 1979, said that he and his wife are dedicated to giving away most of their money during their lifetimes.
"Nothing is more near and dear to me than [the University]," Ellis said. "We are also active in environmental, children's and educational things, but U.Va got the largest chunk of our money."
Darden spokesman Phil Giaramita said that Ellis "personifies the Darden mission of developing people who create, lead and transform great organizations."
Ellis currently heads iXL, an Internet services company, and before 1996 headed Ellis Communications, which owned several TV and radio stations.
Ellis said that he hopes his gift will encourage other alumni who have been successful to donate as well.
"There are very wealthy alumni who are loyal, and we can give back intellectually as well as financially," Ellis said.
Carol Wood, director of News Services, said that Ellis was "one of the driving forces behind the e-summit," a conference last fall that brought to Charlottesville several University alumni who are successful in Internet businesses.
Giaramita said that the unrestricted donation to Darden will go to various programs including "lots of work in the e-business arena."
"Some of our projects are the e-panel, an online networking arrangement of business leaders around the country who will comment from time to time on issues like mergers and evaluations of high-tech companies, and an e-journal," Giaramita said.
Giaramita added that this was an
"excellent time" for Ellis to give this gift to Darden.
"We are in the midst of new issues over the past 12 months, momentum is building, and for Darden, it's a formative time," he said.
Melvyn P. Leffler, Dean of the College, said that the College would use Ellis's gift to "integrate technology for humanities and social sciences" in a future "Digital Village." The donation will help the University become one of the top educational centers in the world for the use of digital technology in both pedagogy and research, Leffler said.
Ellis "absolutely loves the College and U.Va. because he feels it was critical to his own life experience," Leffler said. "He wants U.Va. to be a leader."
Giaramita said that in recognition of Ellis' contributions to Darden, an auditorium that is part of its ongoing construction will be named the iXL Auditorium.
Ellis is a member of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees and is a regular guest lecturer in Darden classrooms, Giaramita said.
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