BNY Mellon donated $1 million to Pitt to fund the development of corporate social responsibility… BNY Mellon donated $1 million to Pitt to fund the development of corporate social responsibility programs and business education through the Katz School of Business.

The donation guarantees various research and fellowship initiatives, according to a University news release.

The University’s David Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership in the business school will administer the grants. It will provide funding for five two-year BNY Mellon Faculty Research fellowships, meant to focus on social responsibility and a total of nine graduate fellowships.

These programs focus mainly on corporate social responsibility, corporate development and international issues, like researching ways to provide clean water and electricity.

Pitt submitted a detailed proposal to receive the donation, but a long-term relationship exists between BNY Mellon and Pitt.

“The Katz School has had a long and productive relationship with BNY Mellon, and many Pitt alumni work at the company,” said Thomas Crawford, associate vice chancellor for the Office of Institutional Advancement.

The Katz school currently has more than 80 faculty listed on its website and more than 2,500 students enrolled in 2010.

Sophomore Mike Wilkinson in Pitt’s College for Business Administration appreciated the contribution.

“The programs that this grant funds will further students’ knowledge on CSR and leadership by allowing Pitt students to get involved with research,” Wilkinson said. “That will hopefully push us forward as a highly regarded business institution.”

The BNY donation does not mark the first time that Pitt received a major corporate donation.

In 2000, Pitt announced a capital campaign, hoping to raise more than $500 million by June of 2003. By June 2008, the University had passed the $1.25 billion mark according to online Pitt sources.

“During the current capital campaign, the University received more than $175 million from corporations,” Crawford said. “And there are more than 20 corporations that have made gifts of $1 million or more.”