The University of Chicago has received a $60 million donation from alumni Clifford Asness and John Liew to support the Booth School of Business and its Master in Finance program. In recognition of their contribution, the program will be renamed the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program.
Chicago Booth welcomed its first students into the 15-month program this August. The program is designed for recent college graduates who want to build on their analytical skills and gain a competitive edge in finance. This initiative, along with the new Master in Management Program, was announced in 2023 as one of the school's first new degree offerings in 88 years.
“I’m grateful to John and Cliff for their generous support of the University,” said President Paul Alivisatos. “Their contributions will not only allow future generations to experience the value of a Booth education but also fortify this new pathway to earning a degree—offering more students the chance to pursue this opportunity at an earlier stage in their academic and professional journeys than they might otherwise.”
The launch of the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program marks another advancement in Chicago Booth’s long history in finance. The school’s faculty have shaped financial theory and markets for over 100 years. Since 1982, ten Chicago Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for their research, including Merton H. Miller, Eugene F. Fama, Lars Peter Hansen, and Douglas W. Diamond.
“Thanks to Cliff and John’s extraordinary generosity and leadership, the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program will ensure that talented college graduates quickly reach the frontiers of modern finance,” said Madhav Rajan, dean of Chicago Booth. “By providing broad support for faculty, students, and other areas of the program, this investment will enable the school to successfully carry out its mission to influence and educate this promising new group of leaders.”
Asness and Liew co-founded AQR Capital Management in New York City in 1998. Asness serves as managing principal and chief investment officer while Liew oversees research and portfolio management.
Their previous donations to Chicago Booth include investments in junior faculty fellowships, support for naming the Kent A. Clark Center for Global Markets, and establishing the AQR Capital Management Professorship held by Ralph S.J. Koijen.
Reflecting on his reasons for making their gift, Cliff Asness said: “When I think about the difficulties of professional and intellectual success, I think: ‘There but for the grace of Chicago go I!’ Everyone needs some luck in life, and my great luck was being there when I was. This chance to give something back—helping make Chicago for others what it was for me—is beyond gratifying."
John Liew added: “It’s hard to overstate the impact that our time at Booth had on us professionally. We literally built our careers around what we learned."
The Asness and Liew Master in Finance program offers a rigorous course rooted in advanced quantitative methods taught by renowned faculty. Students can take classes on technologies disrupting finance such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain technology. The program also provides career exploration opportunities like the Leaders in Finance Speaker Series.
Learn more about the Asness and Liew Master in Finance Program at Chicago Booth's website.