The gift wil🧸l advance teaching and research, increase access to graduate programs, and establish a faculty exchange program. It marks the largest gift from China in the University of Minnesota’s history, and one of the larger gifts made to the Carlson School.

“Eric has been a transformative leader 𓆉at Ant Financial providing millions the opportunity for financial inclusion; today he has also become a transformative philanthropist with his gift,” says , dean of the Carlson School (pictured above). “More students will be able to follow his path into our CHEMBA program, the doors of Carlson School will be open to more students from China, and mo♓re academic exchange between our faculty and PhD students and their researchers will strengthen business relations.”

Jing’s gift will support four initiatives. First, a portion will endow a professorship for faculty who teach or conduct research in China. This professorship will build and sustain China’s business culture by helping the Carlson School recruit and retain top faculty. The inaugural recipient of the Xian Dong Eric Jing ♏Professorship for Business Teaching and Research will be Supply Chain & Operations Professor &nbཧsp;(pictured below).

Second, it will fund an endowed China Executive MBA (CHEMBA) graduate fellowship to enable more students from China to earn a Carlson School Executive MBA thro🎀ugh its partnership with Lingnan College of Zhongshan University.

Third, it will support an e🍰ndowed MBA fellowship to help graduate students from China who wish to study at the Carlson School in Minneapolis.

Finally, the gift will establish a faculty exchange program to bring top Carlson School faculty and Ph.D. candidates to Shanghai Jiaꦗo Tong University to interact with Chinese scholars and business leaders through conferences, collaborations, and events.

“Carlson School studies really have had an impact on me. It helped m🎃e to expand on my horizon. It helped me develop my global mindset,” says Jing. “Today, I give this endowment to strengthen t𓂃he connection between the school and China.”

A global leader in finance

Shortly after graduating from the Carlson School China Executive MBA Program in 2005, Jing left his position with Pepsi for Alibaba: one of the world’s largest retailers w🍃ith annual sales approaching $500 billion.

In 2009, Jing joined Alibabaℱ’s online p🌞ayment platform Alipay. Now known as Ant Financial Service Group and serving more than 450 million users annually, it continues to operate Alipay along with entities such as Sesame Credit and MYBank. Jing was named president in 2015.

During his visit, Jing also delivered a presentation on financial inclusion outlining how Ant Financial Services leverages innovati🦩on and technology to provide financial services to millions of customers, many of whom were underserved by traditional banks.

Solidifying the Carlson School's Global Reach

This past April, Ant Financial Services President and 2005 China Executive MBA al♔um Eric Jing and wife, Janny, made history with a $5 million gift to strengthen the Carlson School’s ties to China. It is the largest gift ever to the University of Minnesota from mainland China. The broad impact of the gift is felt across the school, as evidenced by the following thoughts:

“I am very privileged to be the first MBA candidate sponsored by Eric Jing’s endowment. I greatly appreciate this generous help which facilitates my career pursuit. With this valuable support, more Chinese students are able to access world-class business training and more opportunities to further career development. I believe Eric is making a sustainaඣble and meaningful impact on the relationship b꧅etween the Carlson School and China."

“I was truly honored to be named the inaugural recipient of this professorship. Like any other professorship, this was a highly regarded recognition of my accomplishments as a professor. But I felt this special gift goes beyond that. Since the Carlson school started the CHEMBA program in 2001, we have graduated many executive students who have now become very successful in various business areas in China. What Eric has done has strategic importance in strengthening our relationships with b꧃oth CHEMBA alumni and the business community in China."

“Eric has been a transformative leader at Ant Financial, providing millions the opportunity for financial inclusion. Today he has also become a transformative philanthropist with his gift. More students will be able to follow his path into our CHEMBA program, the doors of the Carlson School will be open to mor🌞e students fro♛m China, and more academic exchange between our faculty and PhD students and their researchers will strengthen business relations.”

“With Eric and Janny’s support we have the opportunity to further our presence in China. We can expand the reach of our CHEMBA program in Guangzhou through scholarships that help offset the cost of travel from different cities. Through these scholarships we are already attracting students from🐽 Shanghai and Shenzen. The suppor♛t for the Antai-Carlson Research Center will benefit faculty and doctoral students at both the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Carlson School of Management.”

“The gift from Eric and Janny is significant for reasons beyond its size. For years, the Carlson School has been working tirelessly to forge relationships in China and elsewhere around the world. This deep engagement has revolved around our desire to truly establish a global mindset among the Carlson School’s♓ faculty and students. In many ways, this gift is validation of these efforts. I am excited to see what the future holds as more doors will now be opened for Chinese students to come to Minnesota while also enabling the exchange of ideas between our faculty and Chinese scholars and business leaders. This is beyond relationship building and into the re♏alm of true partnerships designed to yield results.”

“The University of Minnesota takes great pride in its longstanding relationship with Ch🔥ina. Since 1914, when we welcomed the first students from China to 🐈our campus, more than 10,000 Chinese students have become our alumni. I am pleased to be among the five University presidents who have led delegations to Greater China, strengthening our ties with Chinese universities, students, alumni, and businesses.

“Eric Jing is one of our many talented and distinguished alumni in Chin♛a. He and his wife, Janny, have made a generous gift that will continue to strengthen the Carlson School’s relationship with China, supporting students, faculty, and programs for years to come. It will enhance intellectual exchange and help expand the horizons of students in both Minnesota and China, preparing them to become truly global citizens. We are very grateful for the Jings’ support and I am honored to call them friends of the University.”