William & Mary’s Executive MBA Program receives $250,000 gift
William & Mary’s Mason School has received $250,000 to fund teaching and research in its Executive MBA Program. The School announced the gift given by Jeffery R. Gardner ’97, and his wife Christine. To encourage other alumni to give and join him in supporting the school, the gift will be used as matching funds.
“The tools that I learned at William & Mary have made all the difference in my career,” said Gardner. “I left better equipped to lead because of the professors and students I came to know during my time there.”
Mr. Gardner is CEO of Monitronics International, one of the country’s largest home security and alarm monitoring service providers based in Dallas, Texas. Previously he was CEO of Windstream, a Fortune 500 provider of advanced network communications.
“Jeff and Christine’s extraordinary generosity ensures that outstanding teaching and scholarship will remain as a hallmark at William & Mary for generations to come,” said Larry Pulley, the T.C. and Elizabeth Clarke Professor and Dean of the Mason School.
Mr. Gardner’s gift will enhance the Executive MBA Alumni Chair, an endowed fund established by alumni in 2001, and valued at $350,000 prior to Mr. and Mrs. Gardner’s gift. Since its inception the Chair has been held by Professor Larry Ring who designed the program.
The program welcomed its first students in January 1986. Mr. Gardner will serve as guest speaker on September 11, when the program’s 30th class commences. To learn more about the celebration or to RSVP, please visit my1693.
All of the nearly 1,000 graduates of the program are invited to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Executive Program’s founding at the campus on September 10th.
“Executive education and the needs of professional students are unique,” said Ring, program chair and Professor of Marketing. “William and Mary was a pioneering entrant into executive MBA education. It was the vision of former Dean John Jamison that got the program started. For 30 years, I have had the privilege to teach some extraordinary men and women. It will be incredibly rewarding to welcome them back to campus and see how their careers have advanced.”
Mr. Gardner’s gift is being offered as matching funds, and will match, dollar for dollar, gifts made to benefit the EMBA Chair endowment fund. The school has set an ambitious goal of more than doubling the fund to $1 million.
