Faculty of Economics and Queen's College Receive USD 25m gift from alumnus
Dr Mohamed El-Erian and his wife Jamie Walters
A LEADING economist has made a major investment in the future of Economics at Cambridge. Alumnus Dr Mohamed El-Erian and his wife Jamie Walters have donated $25 million to create the El-Erian Institute for Human Behaviour and Economic Policy. The donation will be split between the Faculty of Economics and Dr El-Erian's old college Queens' and is designed to examine the many factors that drive human decision making and its implications for economic policy.
It will draw on Cambridge's expertise in neuroscience, networks and psychology as well as economics, finance and behavioural science, working closely with academics, practitioners and researchers. The Chair of the Faculty, Professor Sanjeev Goyal said, "This generous gift from Jamie Walters and Mohamed El-Erian lays the foundation for a major partnership with Queens' College, a collaborative undertaking that will also build a bridge between the world of fundamental research and economic policy." The donation provides for a Fellowship at Queens' and endows a Chair (which will shortly go for approval to the Regent House, the University's governing body), as well as linked PhD studentships at the College and an outreach fund.
Dr El-Erian and Ms Walters said: "We are delighted to continue and expand our support of Cambridge, Queens' and, more generally, the education and health sectors. Education has been a critical driver of our careers, and we are delighted that we can contribute to expanding access to high-quality learning and research, as well as its reach and impact." Dr El-Erian is chair of President Obama's Global Development Council, chief economic advisor at Allianz, and is the former CEO and Co-Chief Investment Officer of Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO). He is co-Chair of the campaign for the University and Colleges of Cambridge which will focus on enhancing the University's beneficial impact on the world.
