News from
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
Office of Communications
Stanhope Hall, Princeton, New Jersey 08544-5264
Telephone 609-258-3601; Fax 609-258-1301Contact: Justin Harmon (609) 258-5732
Date: August 16, 1999
Merrill Lynch Makes $600,000 Gift to Economics and Financial Engineering
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. has made a grant of $600,000 to Princeton University’s top-ranked Department of Economics and newly established Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering. The Merrill Lynch gift will support high-quality academic research in the areas of finance and economics with an emphasis on research relevant to important issues in finance and public policy.
"We are delighted by the Merrill Lynch gift and the opportunities it offers to expand and strengthen our programs in finance and economics," said Princeton President Harold T. Shapiro. "Merrill Lynch and Princeton have a shared expertise in these areas and a mutual interest in stimulating new research. This gift is a welcome step forward in the development of what we hope will be a strong working relationship between the corporation and the university."
"We are excited about supporting the cutting-edge research in economics, finance, financial engineering, and public policy at Princeton," said Merrill Lynch Vice Chairman John L. Steffens. "We have a strong interest in these fields and believe there is great advantage to strengthening the ties that already exist between Merrill Lynch and the academic community through this initiative."
Merrill Lynch and Princeton have already agreed to work together on two major academic conferences to be held at the company’s corporate campus in Plainsboro, NJ. The first conference is scheduled for Fall 2001. It will be organized by Princeton’s Center for Economic Policy Studies and will take savings and economic growth as its theme. The second conference is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2002. It will be organized by Princeton’s Bendheim Center for Finance and will focus on financial markets and financial decision-making. Both conferences are expected to result in published volumes. Conference expenses will be underwritten by Merrill Lynch.
In addition to these formal mechanisms for intellectual exchange, the University and Merrill Lynch hope to create undergraduate internships and establish informal discussion groups comprised of faculty, students, and Merrill Lynch research professionals.
Merrill Lynch is one of the world’s leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 41 countries and total client assets exceeding $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through Merrill Lynch Asset Management and Merrill Lynch Mercury Asset Management the company is one of the world’s largest managers of financial assets with assets under management totaling approximately $516 billion.