Alumnus, wife give $20m to Babson College

A businessman and graduate of Babson College, along with his wife, has donated $20 million to his alma mater, the largest gift from an individual or family in the school's history, officials at the Wellesley campus said yesterday.

Former Dun & Bradstreet chairman and CEO Robert Weissman wants most of the money set aside for student financial aid, the Associated Press reported. Weissman graduated from the college in 1964 with a degree in business administration.

''I hope our gift helps the next generation of Babson students make their dreams a reality," Weissman said in a statement released by the college.

Weissman and his wife, Jan, could not be reached for comment last night.

The gift, while huge for Babson, does not rank in the top 100 of donations to US universities, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2001, the California Institute of Technology received a $600 million donation, the largest gift to a single US university at the time.

Babson's president, Brian M. Barefoot, called the gift to the management school of more than 3,000 students a historic milestone. ''As we think back to our founder, Roger Babson, and the early days of the college, there have been a few transformative moments," Barefoot said in a statement. ''This clearly is one of them."

Weissman, who has served as vice chairman of the school's board of trustees and received an honorary degree from the college in 1995, has two sons and a daughter-in-law who graduated from Babson.

Weissman first became active in Babson corporate governance in 1976, officials said. He is chairman of Shelburne Investments, a private investment company.