In Memory of the Father: In Bocconi the Rodolfo Debenedetti Chair in Entrepreneurship
A discipline central to the hope of growth for our country, such as entrepreneurship, is the object ofthe Rodolfo Debenedetti Chair in Entrepreneurship of Università Bocconi, officialy established today after the signing of an agreement between Carlo De Benedetti and Bruno Pavesi, Chief Executive of Bocconi.
The Rodolfo Debenedetti Chair in Entrepreneurship is established thanks to a donation in a personal capacity, of the value of three million euro, from De Benedetti, who thus intends "to honor the memory of the father Rodolfo through a philanthropic act in memory of the abilities and teachings passed onto him, which were at the basis of his own professional growth and his entrepreneurial path."
This is the first example of a dedicated and permanent chair with an endowment, in other words a chair whose scientific activity, teaching and proliferation is financed with the proceeds of an endowment, donated for philanthropic ends by an individual or company and invested by Università Bocconi. It is a means of financing which places Bocconi in line with the best practices of the best universities, especially Anglo-saxon, where fundraising and philanthropic donations are considered the normal means for the functioning of a university institution which dialogues with society in order to reach objectives of mutual interest, in respect of the full autonomy of the university from every political or economic power, an autonomy which is at the basis of the values and the statute of Bocconi.
The chair will be assigned to a prestigious professor singled out by the University on the international market through a search which will value candidates with a scientific standing and specific production in a field of specialization which will include themessuch as entrepreneurship in family businesses, entrepreneurship and growth, corporate finance. Among the activities of the full professor holder of the chair will be included the teaching in the English language programs of the University.
"Carlo De Benedetti has married the development project formulated in Bocconi's strategic plan," observed the President of the University, Mario Monti, "and, with a far-seeing act whichwe confide will not remain isolated, has decided to support in particular our work in the field of entrepreneurship, fundamental for economic and social growth, in Italy and the whole of Europe. With the commitment to strategic themes such as entrepreneurship, which will now be strengthened with the name of Rodolfo Debenedetti, Bocconi intends to place itself even more at the service of the Italian and European society, with research and the formation of a ruling class equal to thenew challenges and of an informed and consciouspublic opinion."
"Being an entrepreneur is difficult all over the world. In Italy the situation is made even more complicated by a context made up of laws often incomprehensible, seriously lacking infrastructure and an absent, if not contrary, political class," stated De Benedetti. "With this chair in memory of my father, Rodolfo Debenedetti, together with Università Bocconi I would like to help young people who despite all the negativity have the will to try. I am deeply convinced that the creation of an entrepreneurial spirit is the result of a thick net ofvalues, family education, personal aspirations, and that the principle which puts into order all these variables is represented by education and formation courses. In this field Università Bocconi, representing an excellence at international level, is the natural subject with whom to carry forward a project for the creation of a ruling class which can provide to Italy a substantial contribution and a renewed will to create business."
"The philanthropic gesture of Carlo De Benedetti", added Guido Tabellini, rector of Università Bocconi, "will allow the University to recruit another full professor on the international market, increasing an effort which, in the last two years alone, has already brought to Milan 27 professors with international experience. In the new globalized education market identifying and attracting the best talents is a fundamental task for a research university. When you offer a vivacious and international scientific community, and working conditions in line with the best international untiversities, Italy returns to being attractive."