For over 60 years, Eugene M. Lang pursued a business career, creating a succession of diverse manufacturing ventures in the United States and abroad based on new products and innovative technologies. A charter member of the Licensing Executives Association, he became recognized internationally as having pioneered licensing and technology transfer as practical means for small American manufacturers to establish their business potential in overseas markets. Reflecting his accomplishments, Forbes Magazine characterized him as 'the quintessential entrepreneur' and Nation's Business 'a father of innovation.' An active protagonist of small business interests, he received the Government's 'E' Award from President Kennedy. As an expert in entrepreneurial ventures and small business development, he served with distinction on various U.S. Government commissions and represented the United States as a member of seven overseas economic and investment missions of the Commerce and State Departments.
Since establishing the Eugene M. Lang Foundation in 1963, Mr. Lang has increasingly directed his time and talents to philanthropy. In 1997, he terminated all business activities to devote himself exclusively to philanthropy through his foundation. The well-known 'I Have a Dream' Program that he created in 1981 has become a nationwide enterprise that operates in over seventy-five cities, providing sustained personalized guidance and support to many thousands of disadvantaged children (identified as 'Dreamers') throughout their K-12 years plus an assured college opportunity. In 2001, he established 'Project Pericles' as a seminal facility to promote preparation for responsible citizenship as a curricular component of higher education. Over the years, he has created a variety of innovative scholarships, academic and social performance incentives, fellowships, and chairs at many colleges. He has supported and endowed numerous internships, researchers and socially-oriented projects for students and faculty. His philanthropies, focused primarily on education, altogether exceed $150,000,000.
Mr. Lang has had service relationships with many institutions. Among them, he is currently Chairman Emeritus of Swarthmore College, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the national 'I Have a Dream' Foundation, founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Conference of Board Chairmen of Liberal Arts Colleges, and board member of the Columbia Business School where he established the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, the Carnegie-Mellon Graduate School of Management, the New School University whose undergraduate liberal arts college bears his name, and the Individual Investors Advisory Committee of the New York Stock Exchange. He has received many distinctions and awards, including 29 honorary degrees. Recognizing his services to education, President Bush designated him a 'Point of Light' and President Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, this country's highest civilian award.
Mr. Lang, born of immigrant parents in 1919, grew up in New York City during the Great Depression. A 1938 graduate of Swarthmore College, he earned an MS degree from Columbia University and studied mechanical engineering at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. He is a member of the Century Club and Yale Club. He has three children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
