Henry E. Riggs

He started the large-scale academic fund-raising efforts that are now widely used by major institutions, launched a graduate school focused solely on training leaders in biosciences (KGI), and served on numerous boards.

[2] Riggs attended boarding school at Phillips Academy, Andover, followed by Stanford University, where he earned a BS in Industrial Engineering in 1957.

He also holds honorary Doctorates in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College and in Applied Life Sciences from the Keck Graduate Institute.

[6] With this approach he successfully led the Stanford Centennial Campaign, the first billion dollar academic fund-raising effort, which has been widely followed by major institutions.

This included building multiple new buildings and the Linde student recreation center, providing new or renovated space to all faculty members, increasing enrollment by 70 students, attracting new faculty members, launching Biology and Computer Science Departments, successfully undertaking a large fund-raising campaign, and balancing the college's budget.

Riggs' early career in Silicon Valley left him convinced that colleges and universities need to be more flexible and entrepreneurial to serve their students and the public good.

Riggs' vision for KGI was based on the realization that life sciences would dominate the 21st century and that new institutions were needed to educate the future leaders in this realm.

[7][8] The KGI curriculum uses entrepreneurial, team-based learning and real-world projects that integrate computational and systems biology, bioengineering, business management and bioethics.