Tampa Bay Storm Owner Vinik gives $10M to Duke University

A Duke University graduate, AFL & NHL owner and asset manager pledged $10 million to Duke to hire and retain professors who will work on complex societal challenges, President Richard H. Brodhead announced Tuesday.
Called the Vinik Faculty Challenge Fund, the alumnus Jeffrey N. Vinik and his wife Penny hope to see the professors focus on topics like engineering and related areas in energy, global health, brain sciences and the environment. The Viniks want the fund to create up to 10 associate or full professorships dedicated to addressing problems that affect the quality of life.
“The problems facing society today create immense opportunities for students who are capable of bridging their science and engineering education with complementary skills in economics, humanities and policy,” Vinik said in a news release. “Faculty members are the key to providing these students with an exceptional educational experience and for engaging them in hands-on research projects and independent studies that will give them the skills to become leaders in their fields and make a positive difference in the world.”
A 1981 graduate from Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, Vinik earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, founded Boston-based Vinik Asset Management and now owns the Arena Football League’s Tampa Bay Storm and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning. He is also a minority owner of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox.
For more on Vinik, click here to read a recent profile of him published by the Tampa Bay Times. Or see this profile in the Tampa Bay Business Journal.