Lei Zhang, a 2002 graduate of the Yale School of Management, donated a record $8,888,888 to the school, the Yale University Office of Public Affairs announced in a press release Monday. The money will be used to help construct new facilities, bolster scholarships for Yale's International Relations Program and fund China-related activities at Yale, according to the release. Zhang, who studied international finance at the People's University of China as an undergraduate and, in addition to attending SOM, studied international relations at Yale as a graduate student, founded Hillhouse Capital Management in 2005 and serves on the SOM Board of Advisors and the China Board of Advisors. Zhang pledged $8,888,888 because the number eight is indicative of luck in Chinese culture. The gift is also the largest ever given by a young Yale alumnus, the release said.
For the first time in the United States, the South contains a majority of students who are poor and a majority of students who are of a minority ethnic group, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The change in demographics is a result of increased movement by minority ethnic groups to the South and an increased birth rate in black and Latino communities, according to The Times. Southern school districts are struggling to accommodate poor and minority students, whose test scores are generally lower than those of white students, and to break the cycle of poverty, The Times reported. By 2020, minority students are expected to outnumber white students throughout the country.
President Barack Obama is expanding a federal program that provides training for science and math teachers, according to a White House press release. The "Educate to Innovate" campaign seeks to improve teaching quality and increase the number of educators in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, according to the release. More than 10,000 new educators in these fields will be trained over the next five years and 100,000 current educators will receive new training, the press release read. Over 75 public universities have committed to increasing the number of teachers they train, and $250 million in investments from private companies and public grants will be used to prepare the new teachers, according to the release.
