Newswise — Wellesley, Mass.—At its Board meeting on June 24, The MasterCard Foundation announced a gift to Wellesley College given to honor the outgoing Chair of its Board of Directors, Lois Juliber ’71, an American businesswoman and one of the first to shatter the glass ceiling for women. The MasterCard Foundation, which advances youth learning and promotes financial inclusion to catalyze prosperity in developing countries, gave $1 million to the College to endow the Lois Juliber International Internship Program at Wellesley, supporting seven internships each year that will place students with organizations in developing countries that are focused on financial inclusion, youth learning, and poverty alleviation.
“We are grateful for The MasterCard Foundation’s generosity in honoring Lois Juliber with a gift that will create new opportunities for our students to engage in the world,” Wellesley College President H. Kim Bottomly says. “Lois is a dedicated Wellesley alumna who exemplifies our motto, Non ministrari sed ministrare: Not to be ministered unto, but to minister.”
The gift was presented as a surprise to Juliber, who said, “I am overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and generosity of The MasterCard Foundation. The creation of the internship program marries so much of what I stand for: opportunities for women, opportunities for young people to explore and find their passions, and opportunities for people to give back and change the direction of the world.”
Juliber was a co-founding Director and has served as the inaugural and only Chair of the Board of The MasterCard Foundation since 2006. She is stepping down now at the end of her third three-year term, in accordance with the organization’s governance rules.
According to Jim Leech, member and incoming Chair of The MasterCard Foundation Board of Directors, Juliber was essentially given a blank slate at the launch of the Foundation, which today is the fifth largest independent foundation in the world. “The generosity of MasterCard shareholders created the Foundation and set out in broad terms what its mandate was to be,” he recalls. “They went through a process of recruiting the inaugural board and then basically said, ‘Over to you!’ On the board, Lois had to bring together people from very diverse backgrounds—former presidents of countries, business types, university leaders, ambassadors—who’d never worked together before; hire management; narrow down the broad mandate to give it focus; and give away [money] in a productive way!”
Juliber reflects on the organization’s evolution during her tenure: “When the Foundation began its operation, we had a six-person board and a MasterCard Worldwide stock certificate. Today, we have committed $1.4 billion and disbursed over $650 million, primarily in Sub-Sahara Africa to help people move out of poverty; we have more than 60 employees and a CEO and management team that is dedicated and passionate about our work. I am so proud of how far we have come and quite optimistic about our future.” The MasterCard Foundation’s gift to Wellesley is doubly special, as a surprise honor recognizing Juliber, and as a boost to causes important to her, namely education, advancement of women, global engagement, and not least of all Wellesley College.
The Wellesley economics major is the retired vice chairman and chief operating officer of Colgate-Palmolive, where she was instrumental in growing the company’s global business in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, and in refocusing the company’s information technology, manufacturing, research and development, and new product capabilities. Juliber is also a member of the board of directors of the DuPont Corporation and Mondelez International (formerly Kraft), a trustee emerita of Wellesley College, and a member of the president’s council at Olin College.
Over the years, Juliber has been recognized for her own outstanding leadership in many ways. She received the Financial Women’s Association Woman of the Year Award in 1995, the Starlight Association Award for Corporate Leadership, and the American Advertising Foundation Award for Diversity Leadership. In 2005 she received Wellesley College’s Alumnae Achievement Award, the highest honor given to Wellesley alumnae.
Since 2012, Wellesley has been a partner in The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program, a $500 million global initiative to educate and develop next-generation leaders who will contribute to social and economic progress. The Program enables young people from economically disadvantaged communities to complete quality secondary and tertiary education, and make successful transitions to further education or the workforce in their home regions. Over 10 years, the Program will select 15,000 Scholars, primarily from Africa, who will be unified by a common philosophy of change and ethical leadership. Wellesley brings a special expertise to this Program—educating women who will make a difference in the world—so the College is most grateful for The MasterCard Foundation’s partnership to educate a total of nine Scholars over several years at Wellesley. The first two of these students came to Wellesley as first-years in fall 2013, followed by three first-years in 2014, together representing Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. As President Bottomly said at the start of the Wellesley’s partnership, “As women are poised to take even greater roles as leaders in Africa, we want to offer them the transformative education, mentorship, and support that have empowered Wellesley women for more than 135 years.”
Newly appointed Chair Jim Leech says of The MasterCard Foundation’s $1 million Juliber gift to Wellesley: “We’re pleased to do it and proud to do it. It’s truly been a pleasure and honor to work with [Lois] and the Foundation will benefit from her sage advice from those initial years when we were trying to build something.” About Wellesley CollegeSince 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.
About The MasterCard FoundationThe MasterCard Foundation works with visionary organizations to provide greater access to education, skills training and financial services for people living in poverty, primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa. As one of the largest, independent foundations, its work is guided by its mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion in order to alleviate poverty. Based in Toronto, Canada, its independence was established by MasterCard when the Foundation was created in 2006. For more information, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org or follow us on Twitter @MCFoundation.
Press ContactsSofiya Cabalquinto, 781-283-3321, [email protected]Toni Tiemens, 647-837-5787, [email protected]
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