Debbie and Ajay Nagpal
Ajay and Debbie Nagpal recently pledged a major donation to create the Nagpal Family Faculty Fellowship, which will support a faculty fellow in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
The Nagpals’ gift is part of the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program. The program was launched in 2022 to accelerate the creation of endowments for professorships, chairs and faculty support funds. It is part of the $1.5 billion Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University.
“Syracuse is dedicated to excellence in the classroom that translates to the real world,” says Alex McKelvie, interim dean of the Whitman School and professor of entrepreneurship. “We are grateful to Debbie and Ajay Nagpal for this gift to support the research and scholarship for which the University is known.”
“Throughout our family’s experience with Syracuse University and the Whitman School of Business, we have been incredibly impressed with the faculty members that we have been fortunate to meet and engage with on campus,” Debbie and Ajay Nagpal say. “It is a privilege to support their work and we are excited to see the continued impact of the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program.”
Debbie and Ajay Nagpal are the parents of Alec Nagpal, a senior and a major in the finance program in the Whitman School. They have been active members of the Syracuse University Parents Council, which Ajay calls a “bridge” to connect parents to the University. The parents of four say Syracuse was the right fit for their son, with the ability to specialize across the 13 schools and colleges and all-around spirit of the University. According to Debbie, her son was sold “from the minute he saw the school.”
Ajay Nagpal is president and chief operating officer of Millennium Management, a global investment firm. Debbie Nagpal also has a background in the financial industry, including a decade with Goldman Sachs.
“At Whitman, when you go to the classes and you listen to the professors, there’s such a wealth of resources, both from the academic and the practitioner’s perspective,” says Ajay, noting that beyond the academic side of business, the school teaches students how to conduct themselves in the workplace.
“Highly engaged families like the Nagpals are crucial to the Syracuse University community and mission,” said Whitman School Dean for Advancement and External Engagement Michael Paulus. “We cannot thank them enough not only for their support for the Forever Orange Faculty Excellence Program but also for their enthusiastic involvement in the intellectual, social and philanthropic life of the university and the Whitman School.”
The Nagpals have supported other University initiatives, including the Annual Fund, Student Experience Fund, Whitman School of Management Dean’s Fund and Hendricks Chapel Dean’s Discretionary Fund. They are active in philanthropy at a number of other universities and institutions and emphasize the importance of aligning their giving with their values. “We have to believe in the mission, we have to believe in the institution, we have to feel aligned with what they’re trying to accomplish,” Ajay says.
Throughout their son’s time at Syracuse, Ajay and Debbie have been a regular presence at parents’ programs and other learning experiences like faculty lectures. Debbie notes that she has appreciated not only the communication between the Whitman School and parents about the student experience, but also the ability for parents to learn.
“We are both attracted to academic environments, the resources and interacting with faculty. That engagement is something that fuels both of us,” says Ajay.
It is fitting, then, that their gift will bolster the recruitment and retention of world-class faculty scholars.
Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals and impact beyond what’s possible.
Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit foreverorange.syr.edu to learn more.
Story by Suzi Morales
