philanthropy has been big news since the revelation a couple weeks back that bill gates will soon retire as head of microsoft in order to work full time giving away all his money, as head of the bill & melinda gates foundation. i hate microsoft as much as the next geek, but i have to give it up for bill gates, because that's pretty damn cool.

today philanthropy is in the news again, as warren buffett has announced the largest charitable donation in US history. what's most striking about the $37 billion gift (other than its massive size) is that, rather than go the traditional route of creating a foundation in his name, he is giving his money to the bill & melinda gates foundation, effectively doubling the foundation's size.

you might not be aware that indy's own IUPUI is home to the center on philanthropy, possibly the nation's premier academic program devoted to philanthropic studies. (virago is working on a master's from the program, and also has a summer job there.) the media regularly turns to dr gene tempel and others from the center for expert analysis of philanthropic issues (see, for example, the front page of today's new york times).

tonight, dr tempel appeared in a segment on nbc nightly news with brian williams. unfortunately, they got his name wrong. his bio shows that the correct spelling is t-e-m-p-e-l.¶