Tanya and Charles Brandes Foundation Contributes $5 Million to UC San Diego's Rady School of Management to Support MBA Student Fellowships

Media Contact: Keri Peckham, 858-534-0855 or kpeckham@ucsd.edu

July 25, 2007

The Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego today announced a charitable gift of $5 million, directed from Tanya and Charles Brandes of Rancho Santa Fe, through The Tanya and Charles Brandes Foundation. Their gift establishes the couple as founder-level donors for the school. A portion of the Brandes contribution has been designated to an endowment fund, with plans for the fund focused initially on student fellowships to provide financial support for exceptional Rady School MBA students.

“UC San Diego has been fortunate in securing generous private support for the university’s top-performing professional schools, including our innovative and pioneering Rady School of Management,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox. “We are thankful for the support of Tanya and Charles Brandes and their foundation, because this gift will open doors to graduate management education for talented students.”

“The Brandes Fellowships will provide financial assistance to outstanding individuals who otherwise might not be in a position to pursue their MBA degrees,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “Attracting such excellent students to the Rady School is a top priority. We are deeply appreciative of the Brandes' support and their involvement in building our school.”

The mission of The Tanya and Charles Brandes Foundation is to provide support for the arts, science, education and community leadership. Tanya Brandes serves as the president of the foundation, providing oversight and strategic direction. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California and a medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Brandes worked in emergency medicine and continues to be involved in providing charity medical services in Papua New Guinea, Africa and other developing nations. In addition to the foundation and her medical work, she is the co-owner of a film production company.

"A commitment to education is one of the best investments that can be made,” said Tanya Brandes. “It is our hope that through the Brandes Fellowships, the Rady School will attract talented entrepreneurs and managers who will strengthen our San Diego business community and beyond.”

Charles H. Brandes is a graduate of Bucknell University. He founded San Diego-based Brandes Investment Partners in 1974. The firm has offices in Toronto and Geneva. “We are confident that this school will shape the next generation of local and international leaders, who will exemplify entrepreneurial spirit, intelligent management and ethical business practice,” said Charles Brandes.

The Rady School has raised $78 million in gifts since its founding four years ago. Private support has allowed the school to build new facilities, provide fellowship funding for students, support endowed chairs for faculty and expand program offerings. Other Rady School founders include Roberta and Malin Burnham, Pauline and Stanley Foster, Joan and Irwin Jacobs, Evelyn and Ernest Rady and the Rady Family Foundation and Carol and Bill Stensrud. Each invested substantially to support Rady School initiatives.

The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego educates global leaders for innovation-driven organizations. A professional school within one of the top-ranked institutions in the U.S. for higher education and research, the Rady School offers a Full-Time MBA program, a FlexMBA program for working professionals, undergraduate and executive education courses. Our lineage includes 16 Nobel Laureates (former and current faculty) and eight MacArthur Foundation award recipients. The Rady School at UC San Diego transforms innovators into business leaders.