Benno Schmidt Joins Kauffman Foundation Board.

National Leader Brings Broad Base of Experience in Higher Education, Law and Philanthropy

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced that Benno C. Schmidt Jr. has joined its Board of Trustees. Schmidt, a national expert in higher education, former president of Yale University and legal scholar, brings a wealth of experience to the Kauffman Foundation Board.

Schmidt serves as chairman of the not-for-profit Council on Aid to Education, which provides assessment and strategic planning services to colleges and universities in the United States and around the world. He also is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York, the largest urban public university in the world and the third largest public university system in the United States. He headed Mayor Giuliani's Task Force on CUNY, and in 1999, wrote a widely praised report that has been the blueprint for CUNY's extraordinary renaissance.

In 2005, Schmidt led a six-member Blue Ribbon task force in Kansas City to explore issues and develop recommendations for how businesses, philanthropists and civic groups could help higher education and research in Kansas City. The task force report, Time To Get It Right, has had considerable impact on the community.

"Benno Schmidt is a distinguished leader, a brilliant thinker and a national expert in developing high-quality educational institutions, especially in higher education, which is an area of great interest to the Kauffman Foundation," said Thomas A. McDonnell, chairman of Kauffman Foundation Board of Trustees and president and CEO of DST Systems, Inc. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to draw upon Benno Schmidt's expertise and intellect to inform and guide the Foundation's work to achieve the greatest impact."

Schmidt has been chairman of Edison Schools since 1997 and served as Edison's chief executive officer from 1992 to 1998. From 1986 to 1992, Schmidt served as president of Yale University. During his tenure, Yale's endowment had the highest growth rate of all private universities Schmidt launched one of the largest building programs in Yale's history, fashioned a model partnership between the university and the city of New Haven, and helped build several interdisciplinary programs in environmental sciences and policy and in international studies.

"I have long respected the Kauffman Foundation for its entrepreneurial approach to philanthropy and am honored to serve as a Trustee," said Benno Schmidt. "This Foundation is clearly making a difference to improve education in this country and has earned a respected international reputation for its work to advance entrepreneurship in America."

Before Yale, Schmidt was the dean of Columbia University Law School, where, in 1973, in his fourth year on the faculty, he became one of the youngest tenured professors in Columbia's history. He was named Harlan Fiske Stone Professor of Constitutional Law in 1982. He is a leading scholar of the First Amendment, of the history of race relations in American law, and of the history of the Supreme Court.

Schmidt graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School. After law school, he served as law clerk to Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. He then spent two years in the Department of Justice before joining the Columbia Law School faculty.

About the Kauffman Foundation

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City is a private, nonpartisan foundation that works with partners to advance entrepreneurship in America and improve the education of children and youth. The Kauffman Foundation was established in the mid-1960s by the late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Kauffman. Information about the Kauffman Foundation is available at www.kauffman.org.