Philadelphia, PA—The University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School are pleased to announce a $6.5 million gift from Barry R. Lipman to establish the Lipman Family Prize. Awarded annually, the Prize will recognize and amplify the work of an organization devoted to positive social impact and the creation of sustainable solutions to significant social and economic challenges. Lipman, W’70, is a co-founder of Goldfarb & Lipman (now Goldfarb Lipman, a leading California law firm).
Emphasizing leadership, innovation, social impact and transferability, the Lipman Family Prize will be a major award with a global scope, propelling the winning organization’s achievements forward through a combination of financial rewards, media outreach, and scholarly attention. Each year, the winning organization will receive a $100,000 cash award and opportunities for an ongoing relationship with the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School, including collaboration with Wharton Executive Education, partnerships with faculty researchers, internships with graduate students, and development of course content. Finalists for the Lipman Family Prize will also receive the same non-cash benefits.
Administered by the University of Pennsylvania through the Wharton School, the Prize recipient will be selected by an interdisciplinary steering committee, comprising faculty and staff from across the University of Pennsylvania—drawing upon the expertise of such entities as the Center for High Impact Philanthropy, the Center for Leadership and Change Management, the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, the School of Social Policy & Practice, and the Wharton School.
“We are very grateful to Barry Lipman for his visionary generosity, which allows us to honor organizations that are committed to innovative, transferable means of creating global social impact,” said University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann. “The Lipman Family Prize reflects Penn’s dedication to the discovery of new knowledge that can improve the world.”
Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson said, “We are deeply grateful for Barry Lipman’s gift. Dedication to social impact is one of the pillars of the Wharton School, and it is an honor to administer such an important award that recognizes organizations with an effective, innovative approach to creating social and economic value worldwide.”
The application process for the inaugural Lipman Family Prize is expected to launch in Spring 2011, with the first award ceremony to be held in Spring 2012.
Barry Lipman said, “My goal with this award is to expand the benefit of social impact organizations around the world by helping to improve their delivery of services through competition, to inspire Penn students to enter the field, and to encourage the transfer of successful methods of operation to similar local and regional organizations.
