Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Brandeis to open global business institute

By Mass High Tech Staff

Brandeis University reports it has received a $5 million gift from Louis and Barbara Perlmutter. The gift will establish the Perlmutter Institute for Global Business Leadership, according to the school.

The new institute is intended to prepare students for leadership positions in the global corporation of the future. Brandeis said the institute is planned to allow students to interact with global business and policy leaders, with an eye toward a better understanding of the interaction between legal, economic and political forces and market conditions on organizational behavior and policy.

Louis Perlmutter, who graduated from Waltham-based Brandeis in 1956, is a retired senior partner of Lazard Ltd., and is currently an advisor to Lazard Alternative Investments. He is a member of the school’s board of trustees and was the only alumnus to serve as board chair. Barbara Perlmutter recently retired after 27 years as senior vice president of public affairs for Marsh & McLennan Cos. She is a Brandeis University fellow, and a founding member and former chair of the school’s national board of the women and gender studies program.

Yesterday, Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston announced a $10 million gift from an alumnus. The school plans to use the money to build a student center, which will be named after the donor, William Flanagan.