Wharton School Announces Establishment of Murrel J. Ades Endowed Professorship

Nov. 7, 2005 — The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced that it has received a gift to create the Murrel J. Ades Endowed Professorship in honor of Ades, a late Wharton School graduate who would have turned 100 this year. The professorship is endowed by his son, Robert Ades, who is a senior partner at the law firm of Robert A. Ades and Associates, in Washington, D.C. The fund will allow the School to honor an exceptional scholar and teacher, providing the School and its faculty with additional research funding, and also will further strengthen the ties that the Ades family already have with the University.

“Endowed professorships enable us to reward outstanding faculty members with recognition for their contributions to business practice,” said Wharton School Dean Patrick Harker. “This professorship is a wonderful way to honor Murrel Ades and his lifelong devotion to his alma mater.”

“I could not think of a better way to mark the anniversary of my father’s birth and graduation than to celebrate with a professorship,” says Ades. “Graduating from Wharton was the achievement of which he was most proud in his entire life.”

Murrel J. Ades was a 1925 Wharton undergraduate alumnus who would have marked his 80th class reunion this year. Born in Louisville, Ky., he began his life in business as a salesman for Schenley Industries, Inc. in New York, before working his way up to executive vice president. Ades went on to found his own company, International Distributing Corporation, based in Washington, D.C.

Wharton School Associate Dean Steven Oliveira stated, “As we approach the 125th anniversary of the founding of Wharton, Robert Ades' gift in memory of his father reminds us of the impact this remarkable institution has had on the lives of our graduates. This gift provides a wonderful sense of history, for a family as well as for an institution.”

Although Ades passed away in 1974, his appreciation for the University of Pennsylvania created a legacy that would remain in the family. His grandson, J. Samuel (Sam) Ades graduated from the School of Arts and Sciences in 1992 and today is a vice president with Warner Brothers Entertainment.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is recognized around the world for its academic strengths across every major discipline and at every level of business education. Founded in 1881 as the first collegiate business school in the nation, Wharton has approximately 4,600 undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral students, more than 8,000 participants in its executive education programs annually, and an alumni network of more than 80,000 worldwide.