Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller has been dipping into his wallet lately. Boston College announced Friday that Mr. Schiller and wife Kim Gassett-Schiller kicked in $25 million to help fund the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, a new building set to open in 2021.
This is the second major donation from Apple’s top marketing exec for higher education in the last two months. Mr. and Mrs. Schiller gave $10 million to Bowdoin College’s Coastal Studies Center in Maine in September.
Boston College Alumnus
Mr. Schiller graduated from Boston College in 1982, a school known for its liberal arts curriculum. The Boston Globe reported that Boston College is trying to increase its footprint in science and technology, which is where the new facility comes in.
Phil Schiller told The Globe that hopes that the institute will “lift up BC’s scientific program to a whole other level. […] I want them to be known for great science.”
The building comes with new undergraduate majors in engineering and applied science. Boston College will also hire 20 new faculty members who will be based in the building.
Phil-anthropist
U.S. colleges often name buildings after a major donor—it’s one of the primary lures schools have to attract dollars. It’s great for wealthy donors looking to develop a legacy, and it can meaningfully contribute to higher education.
Silicon Valley is producing enormous wealth, and I imagine we’ll see more donations like this coming from tech execs. $35 million to two universities in two months from Mr. and Mrs. Schiller is awesome.