SIPA NEWS - School of International and Public Affairs - Columbia ...

DevelopmentnewsDonor ProfilesPatricia M. Cloherty ‘68Raised in a small town nearLake Tahoe, California,Patricia (Pat) M. Clohertygraduated from the Schoolof International and PublicAffairs in 1968 and hasenjoyed a successful anddistinguished career in theventure capitalism industry.Among her many professionaltriumphs was being namedthe first woman president ofthe National Venture CapitalAssociation (NCVA) and thefirst president of Committee200, a nonprofit organizationof leading women executivesand entrepreneurs. Clearly,her success has been drivenby her vision, leadership andadventurous spirit. Leadingby example and never expectingmore from anyone thanshe would expect of herself,Cloherty put the skills thathave propelled her businessacumen into action at SIPA.In 1998, Cloherty wasresponsible for another major“first” by establishing the firsteverelectronic “smart” classroomsat SIPA with a gift of$750,000 as part of Columbia’s$2.2 billion capital campaigninitiative. Cloherty’s generosityalso qualified SIPA forUniversity matching funds,which enabled SIPA toenhance more rooms thanwere originally planned,thus creating a suite of stateof-the-artclassrooms.After a private tour of thenew classrooms, Clohertywas honored at a specialreception in October 2000,where she spoke to a crowd ofhundreds of students, faculty,SIPA board members andother distinguished guests.Cloherty also attended aspecial SIPA dinner, wheremembers of SIPA’s Dean’sAdvisory Board expressedtheir personal gratitude forher support of SIPA and itsstudents. When asked howshe felt about what her gifthad been able to accomplish,Cloherty simply replied,“I’m just glad I could help.”Robert Meade Chilstrom ‘69With his most recent gift tothe School of Internationaland Public Affairs, BobChilstrom, together withhis wife Buena, has formallyestablished the ChilstromFellowship. Fully funded, theChilstroms’ $50,000 commitmentwill provide ongoing,unrestricted support forgenerations to come. TheChilstrom Fellowship hasalready provided awards totwo talented students: Olivierde Cointet and Ashley Gross,and Stephen O’Malley is thisyear’s recipient.Chilstrom credits SIPAas integral to the path his lifehas followed. “SIPA studentshave wonderful careeroptions—they can work inbusiness, diplomacy or publicservice. They also have a sensibilityand sensitivity to thisglobalizing world. My owncourses with Lou Henkin atSIPA inspired me to go on tolaw school and to develop aninternational legal practice.Because SIPA has helped toshape my own life, I hope toshape other people’s lives inthe international arena.Establishing a fellowship atSIPA is a natural progressionfor my wife and me at this pointin our lives. Philanthropy is animportant part of American culture;I would encourage allgraduates of SIPA to considerestablishing their own futurefellowships, whether they planto work in the United States orin other parts of the world.”Robert Kopech ‘77Kopech started out inColumbia’s Ph.D. programin Russian/Soviet ForeignPolicy with aspirations tobecome a professor. With fewjob prospects for doctoralcandidates in the late 70s,Kopech opted instead topursue a joint degree fromthe School of Internationaland Public Affairs and theColumbia Graduate Schoolof Business. His combinationof academic and professionalstudies made him moreattractive than just a graduatewith either degree.Kopech’s first post-graduatejob was with J.P. Morganin emerging markets.Kopech admits to a strongbond with SIPA because ofhis early interest in foreignpolicy and internationalaffairs. In 1998, he establishedthe Kopech EndowedFellowship to benefit studentswho choose to pursue concurrentdegrees at SIPA andthe Graduate School of Business.The $50,000 fellowshiphas provided support forthree exceptional students—Kenneth Blackman, ClaudiaFlores and Shoma Chatterjee.Before 1998, Kopech hadgiven some thought to doingsomething at some point buthadn’t really given any explicitthought to how a potentialgift would be structured.With the help of Dean Andersonand University Developmentand Alumni Relations,Kopech was able to design afellowship that fit his idealsand, perhaps, set an examplefor other SIPA graduates.“I hope that my gift in someway can be a stimulus to getother people involved. I’mlooking forward to it beingfully funded—not to dischargethe obligation—butto know that it is there andwill be there in perpetuity.”SIPA is a high valueeducation but it is expensive.The fellowship is a concretemeans of supporting studentsdirectly and of giving back tothe University for the opportunitiesit has helped him toobtain. “As a donor, I feelconnected to SIPA and to thefellows I support each year.I get a chance to meet and getto know the students. Thereis more ‘kick’ to this than justgiving money; it’s more personal.You can actually see thepeople that you are helping.”—Brigette BryantSenior Development Officer24 S I P A n e w s