EDIT

Major Gift for Supply Chain Management Announced

Transformational gift establishes Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute

04.07.21

Major Gift for Supply Chain Management Announced

Randy Kendrick '86 credits his Marshall education for giving him the skills necessary to succeed in business. He is the founder, president, and CEO of Xebec.

Stay Informed + Stay Connected

MARSHALL MONTHLY BRINGS YOU ESSENTIAL NEWS AND EVENTS FROM FACULTY, STUDENTS, AND ALUMNI.

The USC Marshall School of Business has announced that Randall R. Kendrick ’86, the founder, president, and CEO of Xebec, has made a $20 million gift to support its global supply chain management program as the Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute.

“Randy’s story shows the transformative power of education,” said USC President Dr. Carol L. Folt. “He arrived at USC as a first-gen college student, and he went on to create one of our nation’s top businesses. His generous gift will expand Marshall’s existing academic programs, and help future generations of USC students follow their own paths to professional fulfillment.”

“I can truly say that my USC education was the foundation that prepared me to build Xebec to where it is today as one of the country’s largest real estate asset managers, focused on the industrial/logistics sector,” said Kendrick. “I am immensely grateful for my Marshall experience, as it helped me develop critical analytical thinking and gave me a strong foundation in real estate, finance, and strategic decision-making.

“I benefitted from the generosity of other Trojans who preceded me at USC, and served as mentors throughout my personal and professional life. Now I am honored to be able to do the same. I hope my commitment will inspire others to join me in giving to show their belief in the excellence of our alma mater,” Kendrick continued.

Kendrick’s commitment is the third-largest gift in Marshall’s 100-year history.

“Randy’s transformative gift is a tremendous vote of confidence in the quality of Marshall’s global supply chain program and will turbocharge its future. As the COVID pandemic has underscored, supply chains are at the very core of the contemporary global economy. With Randy’s visionary support, our goal at Marshall is to be the world leader in this crucial sector."—Marshall Dean Geoffrey Garrett

Founding Executive Director of the Kendrick Institute Nick Vyas said Kendrick’s gift will support growth on every front.

“The gift will enable and expand our thought leadership, education, and applied research,” said Vyas, who is also an associate clinical professor of data sciences and operations and the academic director for the Master of Science in Global Supply Chain Management program. “We’ll have the opportunity to provide broader and more in-depth outreach efforts, which will in turn connect the lessons we learn from our collaborations with industry to what we teach in the classroom.”

The gift will support initiatives including:

Endowing the Institute’s Director
Creating a new faculty chair and faculty fellows in supply chain management
Providing scholarships for students in the GSCM.MS program
Supporting research assistantships on faculty supply chain projects
Establishing a Marshall-branded supply chain case collection
Founding a new Block Chain in Supply Chain consortium

The gift will also expand existing academic programs that propel talented students into careers in supply chain management, including a progressive degree program in which Marshall and Viterbi undergraduates can take a fifth year to earn a master’s degree in Global Supply Chain Management. With a successful 100% job placement for graduates, the master’s degree has been ranked the No. 1 online business program according to U.S. News & World Report for the past two years.

“We already take between 10 to 12 progressive degree undergraduates every year,” said Vyas. “This will help us double that number and build a bigger pipeline of human capital into what has become the biggest and most exciting growth area in business.”

Key to Marshall’s emphasis on life-long learning opportunities, the Kendrick gift will also help establish the creation of new certifications for professionals who want to upskill or re-skill, in conjunction with Marshall Executive Education.

The Kendrick Institute will also continue to host the annual Global Supply Chain Excellence Summit, which has grown into the largest supply chain industry-meets-academia conference in North America and drew more than 2,300 virtual attendees in 2020.