$5 million gift establishes IU center to focus on international development

The Randall L. and Deborah F. Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development will help increase understanding of foreign aid and train people to use that money in the most efficient and effective ways possible.

“What the center will do is research what works and what doesn’t work,” Randall Tobias said.

The former IU trustee has first-hand experience managing foreign aid. Tobias had just retired as CEO of Eli Lilly and Co. in 2003 when then-President George W. Bush tapped him to become the United States global AIDS coordinator. In that role, Tobias directed all U.S. government HIV/ AIDS assistance around the world. Later he became the first U.S. director of United States foreign assistance overseeing all foreign assistance activities of the U.S. government. Concurrently he was named administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

This experience led to his perspective that U.S. aid to foreign countries is crucial for national security.