Shelby M.C. Davis and Mahindra Announce Major UWC Scholarship Commitment

UWC International Patron, Shelby M.C. Davis and Anand Mahindra, Governor of UWC Mahindra College and Chairman of India’s Mahindra Group, today announced that together they will provide major new support for the UWC movement. Jointly, they are committing a total of US$12.5 million scholarship funding over the next five years.

Shelby Davis and Anand Mahindra said: “The world needs extraordinary leadership to navigate today’s complex challenges, tensions and conflicts, as well as to make the most of new opportunities.  The UWC movement is ideally suited to provide such leaders and we are privileged to support it.”

“We believe in the potential of UWC students and we believe in the power of leading by example – thus our decision to step up for UWC at this time. The UWC movement is committed to increasing its impact in a world where its mission and values are so relevant and our joint commitment supports that. We applaud UWC’s expansion through two new colleges this year – UWC Robert Bosch College in Freiburg, Germany and UWC Dilijan in Armenia – and the prospect of a further college in Changshu, China in 2015.  We expect to see this growth continue as UWC reaches more students and finds more ways to extend its impact. We hope many others will join us to provide more UWC scholarships for aspiring youth from all parts of the world.”

Shelby Davis will contribute US$7.5 million, US$1.5 million a year for the next five years. Of this total, US$5 million will provide additional funding for the Davis Scholarships, which already support more than 100 Americans to attend UWC-USA in New Mexico and the 13 other UWC schools and colleges. The remaining US$2.5 million will continue Mr Davis’ support for the Davis International Scholarships, established a decade ago and operating in every UWC college.

The Mahindra Group will contribute Rs 300 million (approximately US$5 million), Rs 60 million a year for five years, in support of need-based scholarships for students at UWC Mahindra College. These funds will be transformational for UWC’s Indian college and are expected to support 50 new scholarships each year, 25 for Indian students and another 25 for students selected by UWC national committees in other countries.

Sir John Daniel, Chair, UWC International, commented: “This is extraordinary news and on behalf of the UWC movement I express our profound gratitude to Shelby Davis and the Mahindra Group. UWC offers one of the most extensive scholarship programs in the world, but we are always striving to do far more so that we can further increase our student diversity. Shelby Davis and Anand Mahindra have an outstanding record of supporting UWC, and we invite others who embrace the UWC mission to join them in giving us the capacity to reach more young people from all over the world.”

Sir John announced that the joint initiative of Shelby Davis and the Mahindra Group will be recognised by a renewal and extension of the existing Davis International Scholarships. From 2014-15 onwards, four outstanding second-year students at each UWC institution will be named ‘Davis-Mahindra International Scholars’. 

Sir John added, “With two new UWC colleges opening, this is an exciting year for UWC. These remarkable new commitments made by Shelby Davis and the Mahindra Group make us even more optimistic about the future and our mission of using education as a force for a more peaceful and sustainable world.”

About Shelby M.C. Davis

Shelby M.C. Davis was the founder of Davis Advisors, a mutual fund management company with more than $60 billion under management, now being run by his son Christopher.

Mr. Davis received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University in 1958. He majored in American History, was a member of Tiger Inn, and was a reporter for the college newspaper, The Daily Princetonian.

Mr. Davis began his career with the Bank of New York, where he worked for eight years.  He entered the Bank as a Security Analyst and after five years was put in charge of Equity Research and named its youngest Vice President since Alexander Hamilton.

Since retiring from running Davis Advisors, Mr. Davis has become a major philanthropist. His extensive commitment to the UWC movement led in the year 2000 to Mr. Davis founding, with veteran international educator Phil Geier, the Davis United World College Scholars Program. Established to provide opportunities and funding for alumni of UWC schools and colleges as they progressed to university, the program has since grown to become the world's largest international scholarship program for undergraduates.  Davis’ philanthropy is currently contributing over $45 million annually to this cause, which to date has supported over 6,000 scholars on over 91 American college and university campuses.

Mr. Davis is an honorary trustee of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association and International Patron of the United World Colleges movement. He has served on the boards of Princeton University, United World College-USA, the Hoover Institution and the Teton Science School. He has been widely recognized for his philanthropy and awarded numerous honorary degrees.

Mr. Davis is married to Gale Lansing Davis and has six children, three with Gale and three from a previous marriage, and eight grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Davis reside in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. 

For further enquiries, please contact:

Dr. Philip O. Geier, Executive Director

Davis UWC Scholars Program

Tel: +1 802-443-3200

Email: phil.geier@davisUWCscholars.org

Website: www.davisuwcscholars.org

About the Mahindra Group

The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency.

A US$16.5 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 180,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology, financial services  and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries.

In 2014, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000, a comprehensive listing of the world’s largest, most powerful public companies, as measured by revenue, profit, assets and market value. The Mahindra Group also received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the Emerging Markets category in 2013.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an integral part of business at the Mahindra Group and the key motivation behind is its desire to think alternatively, drive positive change and enable people to rise.  The key focus areas of the Group’s CSR programme include Education for girl child and for youth, Public Health and the Environment.  Employees across the Group devote their personal time and energy to help further the social causes through the Employee Social Options Programme.

For further enquiries please contact:

Ruzbeh Irani, Chief Group Communications and Ethics Officer and Member of the Group Executive Board

Mahindra Group                                           

Tel: +91 22 2490 1441   

Email: group.communications@mahindra.com

Website: www.mahindra.com

About the UWC Movement

UWC makes education a force to unite peoples, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Founded in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, the UWC movement has changed along with the needs of the world. UWC now has 14 schools and colleges on five continents, the majority of which are residential two-year colleges following the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a qualification that UWC’s founding college, UWC Atlantic College, played a major part in developing.

Selection for UWC is carried out by volunteer-led committees in more than 140 countries to ensure a local context. UWC deliberately selects students of different ethnicities, religions, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. It believes in experiential learning where students learn by doing and bring their home culture to the classroom.

UWC also has a network of short programmes around the world which deliver aspects of the experience and extend the movement’s reach.

The UWC movement aims to inspire in its students a lifelong commitment to delivering its mission and to create a global fellowship among its alumni, now numbering more than 50,000.

For further enquiries please contact:

Peter Verhille, Director of Development

UWC International

Tel: +44 20 7269 7800

Email: peter.verhille@uwcio.uwc.org

Website: www.uwc.org

About UWC-USA

Founded in 1982, UWC-USA is a residential boarding school for 228 students, age 16 to 19, who represent more than 70 countries and a broad array of socio-economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. The 200-acre campus is located in northern New Mexico, in an area surrounded by majestic pine forests.

UWC-USA students come from every corner of the globe and from all walks of life to participate in a program where they confront—and often refine—their core beliefs. Intense shared experiences that include wilderness expeditions, community service, and the very act of living together in a residential setting foster a profound sense of empathy for other cultures, races, religions, and lifestyles. Students develop a deep sense of self, passion for values in which they believe, and an understanding of their individual capacity to make a difference in the world.

As with all UWC schools and colleges, the curriculum incorporates active, experiential learning that allows students to tackle real-world projects. They are deeply integrated into the local community, and students collectively spend an average of 18,000 hours every year helping local non-profit organizations, tutoring school children, building homes for underprivileged families, and working at the local animal shelter. The community reaps vast benefits, and students learn to become advocates and activists for the causes in which they are involved.

Alumni are equipped and inspired to become change-agents: taught the skills and values that reflect international understanding and respect for others, they are poised to lead positive change in their future communities, institutions, and beyond.

For further enquiries please contact:

Jennifer Rowland, Director of Marketing and Engagement

UWC-USA

Tel: +1 505 454 4252

Email: jennifer.rowland@uwc-usa.org

Website: www.uwc-usa.org

About UWC Mahindra College

UWC Mahindra College delivers a unique educational experience to highly motivated youth from diverse social, economic and cultural backgrounds, strengthening them through need-based scholarships. Founded in India in 1997, the 175-acre campus is a residential school to 250 students aged 16 to 19 representing more than 80 countries and with 28 faculty members from around the world. The award-winning architecture is located in a biodiversity reserve about 150 km from Mumbai and rests within the greater Western Ghats – one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

Education at UWC Mahindra College follows the UWC example of inspiring action through intellectual engagement with global issues combined with project-based experiential learning in the local community. Akshara, UWC Mahindra College’s impact initiative, provides educational support, vocational training and livelihood opportunities to the wider community and empowers more than 450 students in seven villages in rural Maharashtra. Fostering an enduring sense of commitment to social justice, the college enriches students with powerful, life-defining experiences to lead change in the world. In an increasingly urbanising India, UWC Mahindra College nurtures and celebrates true diversity in tandem with local communities to make a lasting positive difference. 

For further enquiries please contact:

Jahnvi Pananchikal, Communications Coordinator

UWC Mahindra College

Tel: +91 97644 42751/52/53/54

Email: jpananchikal@muwci.net

Website: www.uwcmahindracollege.org