SMG alumnus donates $7 million to BU center

In order to continue the progress of his eponymous center, School of Management alumnus Frederick Pardee announced a donation of $7 million to the Campaign for Boston University Wednesday, BU officials said.

Director of Planned Giving Glenn Vivian said Pardee’s donation will be put toward furthering the work done at the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.

“One of Fred’s greatest interests is in human progress, and he created the Pardee Center some years ago at BU,” Vivian said. “His latest gift is really in support of the work that’s being done there … We’re terribly excited to have received his generous gift.”

Originally from Bolton, Pardee currently resides in southern California in the Los Angeles area. He graduated from SMG in 1954 and obtained a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Management the same year.

Vivian said since Pardee received financial support from BU, he understands the importance of giving back to the community.

“He feels he’s been lucky enough to be able to do just that,” Vivian said. “His experience at BU was so impactful to his life and his success that he is just supportive at a high level. He feels that he has the ability to give back and he is pleased to have the ability to do so.”

Pardee’s donation brings his total contribution to BU near $20 million, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.

“His total contribution is in the top 10 [of all BU donors] when you look at all of his contributions,” Riley said. “His most recent contribution dovetails very nicely with the establishment of the Pardee Center.”

The Pardee Center was founded in 2000 to facilitate intellectual inquiry related to human progress, to create a new class of scholars to work on future-oriented research and to foster links between scholarship and practice to create action, according to its website.

“Certainly he’s hoping that his contributions will really have some impact on issues that are problematic around the world and improving the lives of people from all walks of life,” Riley said. “That’s certainly the gist of his Center, which wants to look at things at the most basic level of sustainability and use of resources.”

Vivian said Pardee’s most recent gift is valuable to the campaign’s already considerable progress.

“This certainly will be counted toward our $1 billion campaign, and it obviously helps that effort greatly — it certainly moves that needle,” he said. “Fred’s gift is just another example of our alumni really stepping up to the plate and helping to continue the university’s great progress as a leading research university.”