May 11, 2021

The Giving Pledge,

It is an honor to be part of The Giving Pledge, especially considering the impact Bill Gates had in shaping my decision to launch the Schuler Scholar Program. I had the fortune of serving on the board of a Seattle-based biotech firm with Bill and had a front-row seat to his philosophy and approach trying to halt the spread of AIDS in Africa.

I became convinced the Gates Foundation did more to stop the spread in Africa than all other government agencies combined. Bill had a top staff. He dug into the details. He had metrics. He was intense.

I shared my thoughts with Bill about setting up a foundation of my own and asked for his advice. I will never forget his response.

First, rather than giving money to many worthy charities, he challenged me to create an organization that actually delivers results. He referenced my history of creating highly effective companies and invited me to use these same skills again.

Second, he advised me to start closer to home. I decided I had a greater chance to be relevant than trying to tackle a problem halfway around the globe.

It was then, in 2001, I decided to create the Schuler Education Foundation with the goal of doing our part to level the playing field for underserved kids in the Chicago area to gain access to highly selective liberal arts colleges. Through the foundation, we created the Schuler Scholar Program to equip bright, motivated high school students with the support they need to get into and succeed at highly selective colleges and beyond. Currently we are partnered with 15 Chicago and Milwaukee area high schools with a staff of 146, and have served more than 1,600 first generation, underrepresented students.

We work with these students beginning their freshman year of high school. We dramatically improve their reading and math abilities. We provide exposures to the wilderness, opera, symphony, etc. We continue to support our Scholars in college and beyond.

Our foundation documents specify we must focus on helping underserved and undocumented kids graduate from the most selective colleges and we must spend all the money and go out of business within 30 years of my death – preferably much earlier. I was pleased my three children – Tino, Tanya and Tess – along with Renate, my wife of 50+ years, agreed that I should give 100% of my wealth to the foundation.

Like many of you, my father had a tremendous impact on my life. When he immigrated to America in 1925, he thought he would not see his family again (which proved to be untrue). Like so many before him and after him, immigrants have been a key growth engine for our country.

I cannot imagine the courage it took for my father to make that solo voyage in his early 20s and I know it was equal parts motivation and optimism that fueled him. I believe this description fits today’s undocumented immigrants and yet, for college-aged students, the current system makes it very difficult for colleges to accept even the most highly qualified undocumented students. By law, they are not eligible for student loans, Pell grants, and work study programs.

We have recently created a new initiative under the Schuler Education Foundation that will award funds to institutions of higher education that pledge to increase their enrollment of Pell-eligible and undocumented students. The Initiative will include up to 20 liberal arts colleges, with the Schuler Education Foundation funding $500 million and those schools agreeing to match the funds for an additional $500 million for a total of $1 billion.

Liberal arts colleges are one of the great American assets. The concept of a liberal arts education was developed in the late 1800’s integrating the study of philosophy, art, music as well as math, writing and oral communication is unique to America.

American colleges compete with one another for students, faculty, and funds. Colleges are pushed to continually evolve and improve – or risk going out of business. We need to preserve and support our great liberal arts colleges. Joining The Giving Pledge and channeling the resources I was so fortunate to earn enables me to impact underserved communities and undocumented students. I hope it will create a ripple effect of opportunity for generations to come.

It is a great honor to be included amongst this impressive group of donors.

Very truly yours,