The Campaign for Sustained Leadership

This year, as business students across the country struggled to find jobs, the second year MBA class made history. More students that ever before – 90 percent – donated to the Second Year Class Gift Campaign. In doing so, the Class of 2002 broke all historical records – their gift totaled $451,645, a 144 percent increase from the previous year.

Wharton traditions run deep. And in this challenging economic year, the final student tradition for graduating MBAs, the Class Gift, was all about lending support, having faith, and giving thanks.

"It's an opportunity for us, as a graduating class, to show our support for the future of Wharton," explains Ellen Desmarais, who co-chaired the 2002 Class Gift. "It's also a thank you – to the generations of alumni who supported our education with their gifts."

"It's been a tough year for all of us. Our class is sending the message that we have faith in Wharton, and everyone else should too." says Mary O'Loughlin, who spent many hours at a table in Vance Hall's Sun Lounge collecting pledges. "Yes, it was a lot of work. But it was certainly worth it. I'm overwhelmed by how generous people were." "In the worst year ever for MBA student placement, our class really came through," agrees Desmarais."We had a great team to work with. It couldn't have happened without the commitment and energy of a lot of volunteers."

Another key team member was Richard Murray-Bruce, who co-chaired the Class Gift with Desmarais. To Murray-Bruce, who comes from the U.K., the Gift represents Wharton's greatest strength: unity in diversity. "The Class Gift celebrates the union of the many nationalities that make the Wharton community so strong, and the amazing learning and growing experiences we've had here together," he explains.

Desmarais and Murray-Bruce, as well as O'Loughlin, are among the 68 percent of the Class of 2002 who had jobs lined up at graduation. (In 2001, 90 percent of MBA students had job offers by that time.) Desmarais, who majored in strategic management at Wharton, will join McGraw Hill's Associate Development Program in New York this fall, while Murray-Bruce has signed on at Boston Consulting Group in London. O'Loughlin, who studied multinational management, is in Minneapolis for a management training program at UnitedHealth Group.

This year's Class Gift is the first ever to be donated to the Wharton Fund, providing important unrestricted support to address the School's greatest needs. "We know that our money will help fund large, strategic objectives. That's important to helping Wharton remain a top-ranked school," explains O'Loughlin.

Adds Desmarais, "Unrestricted gifts were key in such new developments as Wharton West, INSEAD, and Knowledge@Wharton – all projects that help build the Wharton brand globally."

When speaking with classmates, Desmarais realized that there were misconceptions about Wharton. Remembers Desmarais: "They would say 'Isn't Wharton rich?' We spent time explaining that Wharton is certainly rich in resources, but not in dollars. In fact, Wharton actually has one of the smallest endowments of any top business school. It's alumni support that makes the difference."

In the end, reasons for pledging were varied… and highly personal. "My donation was the next natural step in my relationship with Wharton," explains Gil Ben-Artzy, who came to Wharton from Israel and recently began his new job at Boston Consulting Group. "It started as I was accepted to Wharton. It continued throughout my MBA studies. Through my Class Gift, I pledged my lifelong connection as an alumnus."