Famous Philanthropists with Teaching
background
Teaching is one of the noblest endeavours of our society. Whether it is doing charity/ volunteering or imparting knowledge both are ways of giving back to the society. Perhaps that’s why many philanthropists
opt to teach or hail from a teaching background.
Let’s have a look at a few famous social workers and their teaching career:-
Sudha Murthy
The Padma Shree recipient and the chairperson of Infosys Foundation
as well as a social worker,
Sudha Murthy possesses
teaching background.
She was a professor
teaching at Christ university of Bengaluru.
She is also a visiting
Professor at Bangalore
University.
Along with a very strong academic background, Murthy completed a
B.Eng. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B.
College of Engineering & Technology (now known as KLE
Technological University), standing first in her class and receiving a
gold medal from Chief Minister ( Karnataka).
Murthy completed M. Eng. in Computer Science from the Indian
Institute of Science, standing first in her class and receiving a gold
medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
Sudha Murthy has so far published many books, mainly through penguin.
In 1996, Sudha Murthy founded a Public Charitable Trust. The trust
has so far built 2,300 houses in the flood-affected areas.
She is responsible for establishing 70,000 libraries so far. Her
organization has so far built 16,000 public toilets.
Jack Ma
He is the Co-founder and former executive chairman of the Alibaba
Group. Jack Ma was born Ma Yun in
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
He began studying English at a young
age by conversing with English-
speakers at Hangzhou International
Hotel.
Coming to his tough phases, for nine
years, Ma would ride 17 miles on his
bicycle to give tourists tours of the
area to practice his English.
Ma attended Hangzhou Teacher’s
Institute and graduated in 1988 with a B.A. in English.
After graduation, he became a lecturer in English and international
trade at Hangzhou Dianzi University.
Recently, the Jack Ma Foundation announced its intention to donate a total 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to the United States.
The Foundation, along with the Alibaba Group has also donated
similar materials to Iran, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Japan and South Korea.
Lyndon B. Johnson
He was an American politician who served as the 36th president of
the United States from 1963 to 1969, and
also previously as the 37th vice president
during 1961 to 1963.
Johnson was a high school teacher before
his success in election to the US House of
Representatives in 1937.
Johnson paused his studies for teaching
Mexican–American children at the segregated Welhausen School in Cotulla,
located some 90 miles south of San
Antonio in La Salle County.
After signing the Higher Education Act of
1965, Johnson reminisced showing his selflessness and care towards
the community:
“I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little
Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet the pain of
realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically
every one of those children because they were too poor. And I think it
was then that I made up my mind that this nation could never rest
while the door to knowledge remained closed to any American.” --LBJ
Neeta Ambani
She is an Indian philanthropist, the chairperson and founder of the
Reliance Foundation and also the owner of the
Mumbai Indians cricket team. But very less
people know about her early life and her
involvement in teaching. She hails a degree in
Commerce from Narsee Monjee College of
Commerce and Economics.
She took a job as a school teacher when she crossed paths with
Ambani family. And she absolutely loved her job.
She met Mukesh Ambani when she was a school teacher and got
married to him in 1985. Even after marriage, she worked as a teacher
for a few years, which tells about her passion towards her profession.
“The one exclusive sign of thorough knowledge is the power of teaching” – Aristotle