A Rochester businessman's $55 million gift to Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be used to combine two of its departments into their own school.
The gift from Stephen Ashley, the chair and CEO of The Ashley Companies and a Cornell alumnus, will be used to establish the Ashley School of Global Development and the Environment within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The new school combines the college's Department of Global Development and Department of Natural Resources and the Environment.
“My family has had a strong, multigenerational relationship with Cornell,” Ashley said in a news release from the university. “I am delighted to be able to support this initiative, which has been so thoughtfully framed and structured. I appreciate how it creates even stronger collaborations between agriculture, environmental science, economics and research to positively impact communities."
The Ashley Companies is a property management, brokerage, financing and real estate investment firm.
Ashley graduated from Cornell in 1962, and earned his MBA degree there in 1964. He served 16 years on the Cornell Board of Trustees and has been on the University Council for 55 years. He also co-chaired the Far Above capital campaign for 10 years. In 2016, he received the Frank H.T. Rhodes Exemplary Alumni Service Award, which is the university's highest award for alumni service.
Benjamin Houlton, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said the school "will create a dynamic ecosystem for discovery, experiential learning and innovation, transcending disciplines to spark scientific breakthroughs and real-world economic benefits for New York state and the world."
