Richard King Mellon Foundation Names Craig Markovitz to New Post
The Richard King Mellon Foundation, southwestern Pennsylvania’s largest philanthropic foundation, has named Craig Markovitz, Assistant Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business, as the Foundation’s first Prosser Mellon Fellow.
During his fellowship, Markovitz will advise the Foundation on Program Related Investment strategies. His initial focus is to assist in identifying and assessing potential Foundation investments in health care innovation and technology initiatives, as part of the Foundation’s $15 million COVID-19 pandemic response.
“This fellowship is an incredible opportunity to help the Foundation advance a noble cause and I’m honored to work with such a talented and inspiring organization,” Markovitz said.
“We are delighted that Craig agreed to serve as our first Prosser Mellon Fellow,” said Foundation Director Sam Reiman. “The fellowship program is a new Foundation initiative and will allow us to partner with subject matter experts over a defined period of time on topics relevant to our strategic priorities. Craig already is a valued colleague to the Foundation team, just as he is at CMU. And his unique expertise, grounded in both academia and innovative business ventures, instantly enhanced our capacity to make strategic Program Related Investments.”
Program Related Investments, or PRIs, are a complement to the Foundation’s traditional grantmaking. Sometimes described as mission-driven financing, the Foundation uses PRIs to provide capital to for-profit organizations that have high potential to bring significant public benefit, but may not yet be able to command such investments from the private capital markets. The Foundation’s primary goal in making such investments is to make a difference, not a return.
In addition to his faculty position, Markovitz is an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship, where he mentors aspiring entrepreneurs in the Carnegie Mellon University community. Before joining CMU, he co-founded Blue Belt Technologies Inc., a spinoff of the CMU Robotics Institute, and Spotlight Medical Inc., a spinoff company based on technology developed at CMU and the University of Pittsburgh.
Markovitz holds an MBA from the Charles H. Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University and a bachelor of arts in management from Washington and Jefferson College. He was the recipient of the 2019 Junior Achievement of Western PA Spirit of Enterprise Award for Entrepreneurial Achievement, the 2016 Carnegie Science Center Entrepreneur, and the 2016 Pittsburgh Venture Capital Association Outstanding Entrepreneur Awards.
Founded in 1947, the Richard King Mellon Foundation is the largest foundation in southwestern Pennsylvania. The Foundation’s 2019 endowment was $2.7 billion and its Trustees in 2019 awarded 172 grants totaling $129 million, focused on the Foundation’s strategic priorities: Education, human services, economic development, and environmental conservation.
The Prosser Mellon Fellow is named after Richard King Mellon Foundation Trustee Emeritus Seward Prosser Mellon, the former Chairman of the foundation and a son of its namesake founder.