Trustee makes $20M gift for international aid

University Trustee Bruce Karsh and his wife Martha will give $20 million in permanent endowment to Duke to fund financial aid for international undergraduate students, the University announced Wednesday.

The majority of the Karshes' gift-$15 million-will provide need-based grants for international students. The remaining $5 million will be split between a fund to cover student expenses such as travel and the Karsh International Scholars Program, which will provide research funding to approximately five international students per year.

Bruce Karsh, Trinity '77, is chair of the Duke University Management Company, a member of the Board's Executive Committee and president of Oaktree Capital Management based in Los Angeles.

"A university should be a stimulating environment, where there's a lot of give and take," he said in an interview with The Chronicle Wednesday. "I think it's great for kids at Duke to have the diversity of meeting kids from all around the world and for kids from all around the world to be at one of this nation's top universities."

Although the University has a need-blind admissions policy for domestic students, neither that policy nor sweeping increases in aid passed by Trustees in December apply to international students.

The Karshes have previously made several donations for need-based aid, both for domestic and international students.

Karsh said that in addition to helping to promote goodwill toward the University and toward the United States, the new gift will help to make Duke competitive in the global race to win the best students.

The third component, the Karsh International Scholars Program, will provide a select number of international students on aid with three summers of funding for research or research-service in Durham, elsewhere in the United States or abroad. The program will be administered through the Office of Undergraduate Scholars and Fellows.

"The Karshes understand the importance of a robust financial aid program and the advantages to all Duke students if the best in the world are among them," he said. "We will now be able to admit many more [international undergraduate students] who require financial aid, enriching our community and advancing Duke's global connectivity."

The Karshes' gift also adds to the ongoing Financial Aid Initiative, which is scheduled to conclude at the end of 2008. With the help of the donation, the initiative has raised $260 million of its $300-million goal.

Duke currently provides aid to more than 40 percent of the undergraduate population. Of the 416 international undergraduates at the University, approximately 60 are on aid, with 15 to 18 of them receiving full aid. With the gift, officials expect to have a total of 90 aided international undergraduates.

Some universities-including Harvard, Princeton and Yale-have extended need-blind admissions policies to international students, but on the opposite end of the spectrum, others offer no aid to foreign students, said Director of Financial Aid Jim Belvin. He added that because international aid is a new frontier, it is hard to assess Duke's position relative to the rest of higher education.

Karsh said he is happy to be able to make a difference in the Duke community and the lives of undergraduates.

"Martha and I have been very lucky in our lives and we're delighted to be able to give back in this way. I just hope if other people are fortunate to be in a similar position, they too will give back," he said. "I'm convinced that 20, 30 years from now, this will be the proudest thing I'll do."