Gary and Suzann Brinson: Endowing a chair in Finance

Endowments—permanent funds from which the interest is used to fuel academic excellence—are a crucial tool. Endowed chairs and professorships enable Seattle University to retain, support and develop talented educators.

“To hang onto your best people, you've got to be competitive,” said Eshelman. Endowments, he added, “give faculty the breathing space to engage in their disciplines at a more intense level and that feeds back into the classroom.”

The Dr. Khalil Dibee Endowed Chair in Finance, established with a $3.5 million gift from Gary Brinson, '66, and his wife, Susan, illustrates the point.

Professor Peter Brous, the inaugural Dibee Chair holder, “is an outstanding example of the dedicated teacher and scholar that we all aspire to be in the Albers School,” said Dean Joe Phillips. “He is a student-focused instructor who brings great enthusiasm and passion to the classroom.”

The chair's namesake, Dr. Dibee, is a former faculty member who taught investments and was instrumental in establishing the Albers' MBA program for working professionals. Brinson, who founded a leading investment banking firm and is recognized as an investment strategy innovator, said the endowment honors an instructor whose teaching and encouragement played a significant role in his later success.

By honoring Dibee with an endowed chair, said Dean Phillips, Brinson's gift “will significantly enhance the quality of our finance program.”

Brous said the endowment will help him advance his research, particularly his knowledge of international capital budgeting which, he anticipates, will reinforce his course offerings.

From the Winter 2008 issue of the Campaign Newsletter