$10 million gift from Edwin “Ed” Baum and his wife, Holly Wallace establishes the Baum and Wallace Family High Road Endowment at Cornell University’s ILR School

Edwin “Ed” Baum and his wife, Holly Wallace, are establishing the Baum and Wallace Family High Road Endowment at Cornell University’s ILR School—the largest one-time gift commitment in the school’s history.

The foundational gift will permanently fund stipends, subsidize housing, and provide program support for High Road New York City, an engaged-learning and leadership program for ILR students.

“This wonderfully generous gift will enrich the educational experience of generations of students to come,” said Alexander Colvin, Ph.D., the Kenneth F. Kahn Dean and Martin F. Scheinman, M.S., Professor of Conflict Resolution.

“I deeply appreciate the partnership of Ed Baum and Holly Wallace in helping position ILR as a leader in engaged learning.”

Baum, a partner at Ashurst Perkins Coie, and Wallace, managing director and senior financial adviser at Merrill Lynch, had already been supporting the New York City program, which was launched by ILR’s Office of Engaged and Experiential Programs in partnership with the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.

Modeled after ILR’s High Road Buffalo program, the initiative held personal resonance for Baum, who worked his way through Cornell as a dishwasher and short-order cook in the Willard Straight dining hall.

“As an ILR undergrad, I desperately wanted hands-on experience in the field but couldn’t afford to work unpaid internships,” said Baum, ILR’s 2023 Alpern Award winner.

“We want to help students in the same position I was in 40 years ago.”

Each summer, the eight-week New York City program pairs students with organizations focused on civic engagement, evidence-based policy and community leadership, alongside weekly workshops on critical reflection, collaboration, and networking.

“This gift from Ed Baum and Holly Wallace opens the door to working-class and middle-class students,” said Esta Bigler, the program’s faculty director.

“Often these students are the first generation from their families to go to college, and many come from immigrant families… This program provides students with opportunities to work in social justice and nonprofit organizations, bringing new skills back to the Cornell campus, a broader perspective on the world, increased self-confidence, and a window into what their future careers could be.”

Among this summer’s cohort is Bernie Carmona Perenda, interning at Make the Road New York, an immigrant advocacy group connected to the program through Wallace’s network.

A first-generation Mexican-American studying labor relations, Carmona Perenda works as a recruitment and engagement intern helping Spanish-speaking members navigate immigration updates and workers’ rights.

“Growing up in an immigrant family, I experienced how difficult it could be to access reliable information,” he said.

“This generosity has allowed me to gain meaningful experience helping serve immigrant communities while continuing to support myself. I’m incredibly grateful to donors for making this opportunity possible.”

The endowment builds on a long history of giving from the couple, who for 12 years have sponsored ILR’s partnership with the New York Advisory Board of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and who established the Cornell ILR Baum and Wallace Family Scholarship in 2014.

“This transformative gift from Ed Baum and Holly Wallace ensures that engaged learning remains at the heart of ILR’s long history of working with diverse communities throughout New York City,” said Brigid Beachler, director of the ILR Office of Engaged and Experiential Programs.