December 17, 1998 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, has announced that it will receive an estimated $300-million in computer-company stock, the largest gift in the university’s history.
Martha R. Ingram, chairman of the consumer-products company Ingram Industries, in Nashville, and a director of the technology company Ingram Micro, in Santa Ana, Cal., donated 20 million shares of Ingram Micro to the Ingram Charitable Fund, a private foundation started by Mrs. Ingram and her late husband, E. Bronson Ingram, who helped found Ingram Micro. The fund’s charter stipulates that at least 40 per cent of its income and assets — or, in this case, eight million shares of the donated stock — must benefit Vanderbilt over the life of the fund.
Mrs. Ingram asked that the money be used to support programs in athletics, health care, public service, research, and teaching. No decisions have been made yet about directing funds to specific programs.
The university has already received two million shares of Ingram Micro and has sold some of that portion for $50-million. Michael J. Schoenfeld, vice-chancellor for public relations at Vanderbilt, said that the timetable for receiving the additional six million shares had not been set.
Ingram Micro is a wholesale distributor of computer equipment and software. It began as a subsidiary of Ingram Industries and became independent in November 1996. Ingram Micro had sales of $20.9-billion during the last four quarters.
The Ingram family’s ties to Vanderbilt run deep. E. Bronson Ingram was president of the university’s governing board from 1991 until his death in 1995. Three of the couple’s four children graduated from the university, with the fourth marrying a Vanderbilt alumnus. And E. Bronson’s father, Orrin Henry Ingram, served on the board from 1952 to 1963. The family has donated money to Vanderbilt in the past — for such uses as scholarships, research, and professorships at several colleges and schools and at the Cancer Center.
The only surprise surrounding the gift from the Ingram Charitable Fund — its first to Vanderbilt — was the staggering sum, Mr. Schoenfeld said. Vanderbilt chancellor Joe B. Wyatt and E. Bronson Ingram had worked out details of the trust 10 years ago, including the 40-per-cent rule. But at the time, Ingram Micro didn’t even exist.
After the computer company took off, it became apparent that a large payout was in store: “We knew something was going to happen, and it would be something big,” Mr. Schoenfeld said.
It is not clear what charities will benefit from the remaining 12 million shares of Ingram Micro that Martha Ingram gave to the fund. A family spokesman said only that the shares will benefit causes nationwide. The family prefers to give quietly and confidentially, he said, and does not accept grant proposals or other solicitations.
