The Whitman School of Management is pleased to announce a significant seed gift from Douglas ’86 and Susan Present to the School’s Opportunity Fund. The donation will serve to create a pilot project to allow students with great academic potential, but limited financial resources, to take advantage of the unique opportunities at Whitman by helping to cover certain expenses not traditionally covered by scholarships or financial aid.  Specifically, the Opportunity Fund will assist students to cover the costs of student activities, unanticipated events leading to financial hardships and stipends to cover expenses related to increasingly important summer internships. 

The Presents’ generosity has been primarily anonymous in the past, but they hope that by making the gift public, they can help to raise additional funds and inspire other Whitman alumni to contribute to the Opportunity Fund, as well as encourage Syracuse University leadership to create a similar fund for all Syracuse students across all schools.

A Syracuse University Trustee, Doug is a member of the Board’s executive committee as well as chair of its finance committee and has been a long-standing member of the Whitman Advisory Council (WAC).  He graduated from the Whitman School and found success in the healthcare industry, having worked at Deloitte & Touche, Medsite, Inc.; and Managed Health Care Associates, Inc., before starting his own investment firm, Douglas Present Associates, LLC.

“Susan and I want every student to have a complete and full Syracuse Orange experience,” Present says. “Costs not covered by financial aid can inhibit opportunities for students with high financial need. All students should have the opportunity to participate in non-academic activities and have the ability to accept a summer internship opportunity in a high-cost city.  Lastly, no student should have their academic ambitions thrown off track by unexpected events that lead to expenses not covered by financial aid.  Our philanthropy has always been focused on creating opportunities for high-achieving students with limited financial means to have the same opportunities as students who come from higher income families. I am pleased that Whitman is taking the lead on this initiative, and I hope to encourage the implementation of a similar program across the entire University.”

Requests for grants from the Whitman Opportunity Fund will be facilitated on a rolling, case-by-case basis while funding remains available.

“We are extremely grateful for the thoughtful generosity of Douglas and Susan Present, who are strongly committed to relieving the less visible financial burdens that some of our students quietly face,” said Interim Dean Alex McKelvie. “We hope this gift will jump start a renewed awareness within our alumni supporters that this kind of need truly does exist and encourage others to help make a difference in Whitman students’ long-term success.”

For more information on the Whitman School of Management Opportunity Fund, go to https://whitman.syracuse.edu/undergraduate/undergraduate-advising-resources/funding .