Propelled forward by the inspiring support of alumni and friends, Tuck has surpassed the $250 million goal set at the start of The Tuck Difference campaign—a significant milestone accomplished during the most ambitious and successful fundraising effort in the 122-year history of the Tuck School.
As the campaign enters its final phase, this historic achievement ensures that Tuck will more than double its previous record of $125 million raised during the Investing in Excellence campaign, which concluded in 2009.
The Tuck Difference formally launched in 2018 as part of Dartmouth’s campaign, The Call to Lead. This past fall, Dartmouth announced it had exceeded its campus-wide $3 billion goal.
The remarkable progress we have made is a credit to the abundant generosity of alumni, the leadership of our Advisory Board and Council members, as well as the dedication and creativity of faculty and staff colleagues who have helped us build upon our vision of what Tuck is and what we can become in the years ahead.
The success of The Tuck Difference is owed to the philanthropic support of all those who have generously and enthusiastically embraced Tuck’s mission to prepare wise, decisive leaders who better the world through business. More than 75% of Tuck alumni have contributed to the campaign. Their collective impact is reflected in several transformative seven- and eight-figure gifts as well as the continued growth of Tuck Annual Giving (TAG).
“From the beginning, The Tuck Difference campaign has been a collaborative effort to identify and invest in the qualities that most distinguish Tuck in the world of business education,” says Dean Matthew J. Slaughter. “The remarkable progress we have made is a credit to the abundant generosity of alumni, the leadership of our Advisory Board and Council members, as well as the dedication and creativity of faculty and staff colleagues who have helped us build upon our vision of what Tuck is and what we can become in the years ahead."
Among signature campaign gifts, a $25 million commitment from Michaela and Zdenek Bakala T’89 provides sustaining support for TuckGO, a distinctive aspect of Tuck’s curriculum that facilitates global learning. A $15 million scholarship gift from Paul Raether T’73 has helped Tuck build record-setting classes of smart and accomplished MBA students. Recent seven-figure gifts from Daniel Revers T’89 and Warren C. “Renny” Smith Jr. T’83 will strengthen the critical role of Tuck’s centers as hubs of co-curricular learning and application.
Lauren Lu, Associate Professor of Business Administration and the Daniel R. Revers T’89 Faculty Fellow, is one of several new faculty members at Tuck. Lu’s areas of expertise are global supply chain management and healthcare operations.
Building a Better Tuck: Celebrating Our Progress
When the campaign first launched in 2018, the school pursued investments in three broad areas: People, Programs, and Places. Maintaining the spirit of these initial campaign goals, in 2021 school leaders officially introduced a refined set of three investment priorities and eight related initiatives, reflecting a sharpened sense of strategic clarity.
“People, programs, and places remain at the heart of the Tuck experience and at the heart of our campaign, but better articulating our strategic needs and the investment opportunities within those areas and developing a more focused set of timely initiatives proved pivotal,” says Punam Anand Keller, Senior Associate Dean for Advancement and Tuck-Dartmouth Programs.
Tuck is in a better place—a much better place—because of the transformational investments made by alumni throughout the campaign. But better isn’t the end for us.
Current and future campaign progress is measured against these refined priorities: Expanding Access to Business Education, Building Capabilities of Tomorrow’s Leaders, and Guiding Career Journeys. Together, the three priorities represent the school’s commitment to excellence through the entire arc of the Tuck journey—from attracting the very best students to developing wise, decisive leaders to supporting the lifelong success of alumni. Tuck has made significant progress in each of these areas.
Expanding Access to Business Education is an investment priority that has been especially resonant among Tuck alumni and, in turn, has allowed the school to make impressive headway. Responding to increasing competition among peer MBA programs, Tuck has doubled the total number of scholarships offered to incoming MBA students—helping to enroll exceptional students who may not otherwise choose Tuck. Campaign gifts have also supported in-demand programs like Tuck Business Bridge and TuckLAB, which provide foundational business knowledge, skills, and experiences for undergraduate students. The school has also continued to invest in its dedicated executive education diversity business programs as well as the pioneering Next Step transition program for military veterans and elite athletes.
While business education is always evolving, recent world events have brought about profound changes that underscore the importance of Building Capabilities of Tomorrow’s Leaders. Investments in technology and infrastructure improvements to promote effective and innovative teaching have been vital to this effort, along with support for recruiting and retaining world-class faculty. To prepare inclusive leaders who can effectively navigate today’s complex business and societal challenges, Tuck has invested in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and laid out a roadmap for future progress in its DEI Strategic Review and Action Plan. And recognizing a growing reliance on data analytics across all business functions, Tuck reviewed its first-year core curriculum in 2018, which resulted in a revamped sequence of analytics courses and the opportunity for students to earn a STEM-designated MBA.
Within the third campaign priority, Guiding Career Journeys, the school has made considerable strides in expanding the range of Tuck Alumni Lifelong Learning (TALL) offerings and career services available to alumni. TALL now encompasses a growing suite of programs and activities—including Faculty Briefings, Insights in Practice, Tuck Insider, and Career Dispatches. A campaign gift provided the resources to support a full-time staff member dedicated to alumni career support. Since joining Tuck in 2019, Associate Director of Alumni Career Services Heather Law has held nearly 2,000 career coaching appointments with more than 450 alumni and has hosted more than 60 virtual Career Dispatch programs. Tuck has also received several transformative investments in its six centers, which forge pathways of learning and application for MBA students to develop skills and explore trends and opportunities across sectors.
“Together we have accomplished a great deal to better our school and ultimately the impact our graduates will have on the world,” shares Slaughter. “Tuck is in a better place—a much better place—because of the transformational investments made by alumni throughout the campaign. But better isn’t the end for us.”
