The John M. Olin School of Business has received a major gift from the Bauer Foundation to establish the George and Carol Bauer Professorship in Organizational Ethics and Governance, announced Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton.
“We are very grateful for George and Carol Bauer’s dedication to Washington University, and for their generous support of the Olin School’s teaching and research efforts in the field of organizational ethics and governance,” Wrighton said. “The Bauer Professorship will greatly enhance this important area of study.”
Mahendra Gupta, Ph.D., the Geraldine J. and Robert L. Virgil Professor of Accounting and Management and dean of the Olin School, said, “At the Olin School of Business, we are strongly committed to educating our students in corporate governance and advancing personal and professional ethics. This professorship affirms our resolve and inspires us. It will significantly enhance our research, business and classroom engagements. I am deeply thankful to George and Carol Bauer for this important investment and support, the impact of which will be felt for years to come.”
In addition to this gift, the Bauers have provided substantial support for scholarships at the University. In 2004, they established an endowed scholarship as part of the Spirit of Washington University Scholarship Program. This scholarship provides emergency financial assistance to University students who experience unforeseen financial problems that could preclude them from remaining at the University.
George P. Bauer grew up on a farm in DeSoto, Mo. He graduated from the School of Engineering & Applied Science with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering in 1953 and earned a master’s degree from the Sever Institute in 1959.
An active alumnus, he serves on the University’s New York Regional Cabinet. Bauer spent 31 years at IBM Corp., where he held a number of executive positions in marketing, finance and business systems, until retiring in the mid-1990s to start an investment banking firm, GPB Group Ltd.
Carol Bauer is very active with Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Conn., serving as chaplain and formerly serving as chair of its Board of Trustees.
The Bauer’s philanthropy has spread beyond the campus, most recently to Thailand. The unlikely connection was the result of an alumni group trip in 1994 that exposed the Bauers to the harrowing circumstances of sexually exploited adolescent girls. Several years later, the New Life Center became a reality, thanks to combined efforts of the Bauers and the Japanese government.
Their gift serves as a halfway house providing shelter, education and vocational training for 50 rescued girls. When introduced, the New Life Center was so innovative that it was featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
The Bauers have three children and five grandchildren, and live in New Canaan, Conn.