Alumni, Whirlpool Gift $2M to Kelley School
Marcia and Jeff Fettig (photo courtesy Indiana University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA pair of gifts totaling $2 million will support various initiatives at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. The Michigan-based Whirlpool Foundation has donated $1 million, which is being matched by IU alumni Jeff and Marcia Fettig.
Jeff Fettig is the former chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE: WHR), where he remains as chairman of the board. IU says the funding will not only boost the Kelley School’s efforts to attract and retain top talent, but also provide scholarships and strengthen the school’s initiatives in digital intelligence and social entrepreneurship.
"In our rapidly changing global economy, it’s vital that the Kelley School and their faculty are among the thought leaders, pushing students forward toward the boundaries of business thinking and intellectual curiosity," Jeff Fettig said. "This was very true when Marcia and I graduated and is even more true today. On behalf of us both, it is in recognition of the positive role IU played in our lives that we together are pleased to give back to help the students of today realize their own dreams of tomorrow."
IU says the gifts will support a faculty leadership program, which it says will help the Kelley School remain competitive in an "increasingly aggressive academic area." The funding will also support the school’s recently-launched Digital Intelligence Initiative, which prepares students for careers involving emerging technological innovations, such as cloud computing, augmented reality and Internet of Things.
A portion of the gifts will also support scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in the Kelley Direct online MBA program. There will be a preference for undergraduate students from Tipton County, where the Fettigs grew up and Berrien County, Michigan, which is the home of Whirlpool.
Marcia Fettig graduated from IU in 1978 and received her master’s degree in 1980. Jeff Fettig graduated from the Kelley School in 1979 and earned his MBA in 1981. He spent 13 years as CEO of Whirlpool before retiring from the position last year.