The Alumni Magazine for Worcester Polytechnic Institute. (WPI)
Issue link: http://wpialumnimag.epubxp.com/i/277771
Spring 2014 51 if... campaign DAVID NORTON '62 HAS consistently supported Worcester Polytechnic Institute for more than fve decades, giving generously to assist his un- dergraduate alma mater with its annual goals. Now, the 2012 WPI Innovator of the Year is looking to impact the university for decades to come. He has pledged $2 million from his es- tate to establish the David P. '62 and Melissa Norton Endowed Fund to create the David P. Norton Chair for Strategy Management in the School of Business. "The money could have been used to name a building, but I thought this was a better way to invest it so WPI can continue to hire the best faculty," says Norton, the president of global management consulting frm Palladium Group and considered one of the world's leading author- ities on strategic performance management. "I wanted to do something that would make a world-class business school at WPI and invest in its future." The faculty member who holds the chair will be expected to advance the theory and practice of strategy management, and its interaction with other WPI strategic initiatives such as innovation and entrepreneurship. "Great universities—and great business schools—frst and foremost start with great people: faculty, students, staff, alumni, parents, and friends," says Mark Rice, vice provost for innovation and entrepreneur- ship, who's had extensive discussions with Norton on how best to use the funds. "David's generous gift will enable the School of Business to recruit a star faculty member who will add tremendous value in teach- ing, research, and program leadership." The chair's focus aligns with that of Norton's extremely successful ca- reer. Although he graduated from WPI with a BS in electrical engineer- ing, the Concord, Mass., resident has made his mark as an entrepreneur, lecturer, writer, and expert on strategy management. Norton is best known as the co-creator of The Balanced Scorecard, a strategic planning and management system used by businesses, indus- try, government, and nonproft organizations around the globe. The sys- tem aligns a company's activities to its vision and strategy, improves in- ternal and external communications, and monitors organizational performance against strategic goals. "American companies focus too much on their quarterly earnings and not enough on managing their employees, products, and customers and identifying what should be done and measured," Norton says. "There was no common way to execute a company's overall strategy that incor- porated all of these elements, so the Scorecard helps them simplify the process of managing their business." The Scorecard concept, which Norton created with Harvard Business School professor Robert Kaplan, was selected by Harvard Business Review editors as one of the most infuential management ideas of the past 75 years. He and Kaplan have co-authored eight HBS articles and fve books on how to use this extraordinary tool. Norton was voted one of the world's 12 most infuential thinkers by Suntop Media's "Thinkers Top 50" in 2008, and was awarded the Champion of Workplace Learning and Performance Award by the American Society for Training and De- velopment. His books have been translated into 23 languages. Norton, who received his doctorate in business administration from Harvard Business School, supports other organizations in addition to WPI. For him, designating such a sizeable planned gift is his way of paying forward the scholarship that made it possible for him to attend WPI in the early 1960s. And it's no different today, as more than 65 percent of the school's students receive some sort of fnancial assistance. "The cost of a student's education is greater than the tuition. That's why alumni participation is so crucial," says Norton, WPI trustee emeri- tus. "I hope that I can be a role model for others to use part of their es- tates to help future generations of WPI students." Rice agrees. "His leadership commitment will inspire other donors and volunteers to add fuel to our fre as we develop innovative and entre- preneurial leaders for a global technological world—the key element of our mission at the School of Business at WPI." —John Shaw Balanced Giving 2012 WPI Innovator of the Year David Norton Establishes Fund WPI_spring14_Advancement.indd 51 3/9/14 2:16 PM