With a $700,000 donation to CSUDH, Doug Le Bon made university history for donating the largest gift to CSUDH from a living alum.
Le Bon, who earned two business degrees from CSUDH, a BS in Business Administration (1976) and an MBA (1979), is the co-founder and senior managing director of Pathway Capital Management, one of world’s most successful private markets investment firms, managing over $85 billion in assets.
Remembering his days as a student driving a soft drink delivery truck around the South Bay, he said he was motivated to give to the university to help reduce the financial barriers students today face in pursuit of their education.
“I think it can be really difficult now for young people to go to college,” says Le Bon. “It’s not only the actual cost of college, but students have to put food on their tables. My motivation was to try to make it easier for people to get their degrees and not leave college with so much debt.”
“That’s a really difficult thing now for students to do,” Le Bon adds. “Especially if you’re if you’re studying liberal arts, or studying to be a teacher or social worker. A businessperson or lawyer can expect to make money and pay off their debt, but for students in other disciplines it can be problematic.”
With his donation, Le Bon earmarked $500,000 to establish the Le Bon Family Scholarship at CSUDH. The gift will provide funding for the Presidential Scholars program, the new Pay It Forward initiative, and the CSUDH general scholarship fund. Another $200,000 for technology in the new Innovation & Instruction Building.
As a graduate of the business school, Le Bon was eager to help equip the new Innovation & Instruction Building, which now houses the College of Business Administration and Public Policy (CBAPP). His largess enabled the university to purchase several Bloomberg Terminals, software systems that enable users to monitor and analyze financial market data.
In addition, CBAPP students will get access to Bloomberg Market Concepts, a self-paced e-learning course that provides an interactive introduction to financial markets. CSUDH students who pass the course will be receive a free certification.
“Technology is key, and access to technology is key,” says Le Bon. “If students are going to go into money management or anything like that, they are going to have to be facile and adept at using technology like Bloomberg Terminals in order to keep up.”
“I would really like it if more Dominguez Hills business students ended up in asset management, because there are just not enough young people from diverse or underserved communities in the disciple. If having these terminals in place helps spur interest and gives those students a background that makes them more attractive to employers, that would be great.”
“Sometimes, the passions of our alums remain more latent than visible, but once revealed, they point a way to a brighter future. Mr. Le Bon’s extraordinary generosity represents everything that’s special about our Toro Nation,” said CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham. “His contributions will make a huge impact on the lives of scores of CSUDH students and faculty going forward. When our successful alumni extend a helping hand to those coming after them, it both establishes a legacy to build on, and illustrates exactly what we mean by ‘Go Far Together.’ We are all more than grateful for and appreciative of Mr. Le Bon’s stunning philanthropic support.”
