Julian H. Robertson Jr.

Julian H. Robertson Jr., a leading investor, environmentalist and philanthropist, was honored by Denison University in April with the establishment of an endowed professorship in his name.

The $2.5 million professorship was funded through a collaboration of Robertson’s Denison friends, as well as his professional colleagues in the financial world, to honor his guidance and careful stewardship of a significant portion of Denison University’s endowment for many years and his close ties to the college. The professorship, the holder of which will be named at a later date, recognizes exemplary achievement in teaching and scholarship by Denison faculty.

Robertson is chairman and chief executive officer of Tiger Management LLC, which managed one of the world’s largest and most successful investment/hedge funds with returns that compounded at a gross rate of 31.5 percent between its founding in 1980 and its closing in 2000. Since closing the fund Robertson has seeded some 30 hedge funds, which today manage about $30 billion.

In 1996, Robertson and his wife, Josie, created the Robertson Foundation to focus on large-scale, domestic, high-impact grants in education, environment, religion, and medical research. Among the foundation’s major initiatives are active support of New York City’s public education reform, merit-based scholarship programs at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and combating global warming with market-based solutions.

The announcement of the new professorship came at the Julian H. Robertson Jr. Symposium titled, “The Tiger Factor: Changing Denison’s World,” in the college’s Herrick Hall Auditorium on April 18. The event featured Robertson and four former Tiger partners, all of whom founded their own hedge funds over the last 11 years and manage portions of the approximately $700 million Denison endowment. The symposium involved a panel discussion of Robertson’s professional and philanthropic history, his philosophy of business integrity, as well as the panel’s current market insights.

“The professorship and symposium are fitting ways to honor Julian Robertson Jr.’s professional acumen and personal dedication,” said President Dale Knobel. “As one of the greatest investors of our generation, Julian has done more than create wealth; he has touched the lives of thousands of students. Denison’s sound fiscal management, of which Julian has been a big part for nearly two decades, has increased the college’s ability to provide countless scholarships, support our top-tier faculty and enhance Denison’s facilities. The Denison family of students, faculty, staff and alumni will be forever indebted to Julian and to his exceptional colleagues who established their own firms and have so ably managed portions of Denison’s endowment for almost 20 years.”

In addition to Robertson and Knobel, participants in the symposium included Mark Dalton, chair of Denison’s Board of Trustees, member of the class of 1972, and vice chairman and president of Tudor Investment Corporation; John D. Lowenberg Sr., Denison trustee, member of the class of 1964, and principal of Anvil Management Company LLC; and former Tiger partners Stephen F. Mandel Jr., managing director and portfolio manager of Lone Pine Capital LLC; Bill Hwang, chief executive officer and managing partner of Tiger Asia Management LLC; Dwight Anderson, principal and portfolio manger for Ospraie Management LLC; and Charles P. Coleman III, managing partner of Tiger Global Management LLC.