Walter C. Klein. Photo by Martha Stewart.

A new scholarship fund for undergraduates is the centerpiece of Walter C. Klein's latest gift to Harvard. Having previously established a professorship in the humanities -- of which Charles Segal is the incumbent -- and funded the Walter C. Klein Wing in the Barker Center for the humanities, Klein is now providing for students whose primary course of study is in the humanities. He has doubled his campaign commitment to $10 million.

Financial aid has been a cornerstone of The University Campaign. Just this month, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences reached its $200 million goal for new endowed undergraduate scholarships.

Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles said, "Walter is marvelously indefatigable in his efforts to strengthen Harvard. He is always aware of what we need to remain vigorous ‹ whether he is interviewing applicants to the College or leading the Class of 1939 through its reunions. He is a thoughtful, articulate, and far-seeing man, and we are lucky to have him as a warm friend and generous supporter."

"Harvard holds to the premise that college is not a time for a preprofessional focus but rather for a general, thorough liberal education," said Klein, who graduated from the College in 1939. "Throughout my life, I have drawn greatly on my own humanities education, which has enriched me personally and professionally."

He added, "I am confident that the University, with Neil and Jeremy at the helm, is in good hands. I have been especially gratified to see how serious they are about carefully managing Harvard's finances ‹ that encouraged me to increase my gift."

A loyal Harvard alumnus, Klein has been active on behalf of Harvard for many years. He serves on the Committee on University Resources Campaign Executive Committee, the Harvard College Fund Council, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences New York Major Gifts Steering Committee, and the Overseers' Visiting Committee to the College, as well as being a reunion gift chair for his class's upcoming 60th reunion.

Each year since the mid-1950s, he has interviewed prospective Harvard students. He led his Class's 50th and 55th reunions and has participated in the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research activities.

"I feel that if you are giving money, you should also be involved," he explained. "I am interested in knowing what is happening, especially when I want to convince others to give to Harvard."

Walter Klein was born in New York City and attended Horace Mann School, then spent his high school years in Vienna, where his parents moved temporarily after his father's retirement. He entered the College in 1936 with advanced standing owing to his superior secondary education in Vienna. He speaks French, German, Spanish, and some Italian, and reads Latin, and his love of languages formed the foundation of his appreciation for the humanities.

Always one to fill every hour, Klein took four courses and audited another four courses during each term of his three years at Harvard. He rowed on the crew, worked in the Eliot House library, sold laundry subscriptions, ushered in a movie theater, and tutored German.

"Harvard was predominantly a New England school when I was there, although it attracted a number of students from around the United States and a handful from abroad," he recalled. His exposure to European events of the 1930s steered him toward concentrating in history.

He spent a year at the Law School before embarking on a career that took him over the next decade to Gary, Ind.; Chicago; Buenos Aires; and St. Louis.

Klein has spent the majority of his adult life in New York City and is now president, chairman, and CEO emeritus of Bunge Corporation. The international food-processing and exporting company employed 40 workers and operated at a loss when he joined it in 1948. He rose to lead the company, adding storage, shipping, and processing capabilities and developing its European and Asian business along the way. At his retirement in 1990, Bunge employed 4,000 and generated $4 billion in annual revenue. Klein continues to exercise his business acumen as a consultant to several younger New York City friends launching entrepreneurial ventures.

Klein has three children from his 50-year marriage to Mary Kennard Eddy, who died in 1991. Their eldest son, Walter C. Klein Jr., is a member of the Class of 1965.

He now takes an occasional vacation from work to pursue art collecting and visit museums near his Manhattan home and around the world with his wife, Virgilia Pancoast Klein, an art authenticator and lecturer. Mrs. Klein shares his enthusiasm about giving to the College (although her parents and two brothers have Yale degrees), having joined her husband at many alumni seminars featuring faculty and students describing their research and study.