Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

Chen Yiran had a plan, and time was of the essence. After leaving Oracle, he immediately contacted TED to donate money to the University of Delaware in his personal capacity.

Before her rebirth, Chen Yiran studied hard at the University of Delaware for five years, where she fully experienced American university life.

Here, he developed a passion for watching football, and it became an obsession, mainly because the basketball team at the University of Delaware was so bad that they struggled to even qualify for March Madness once.

While the University of Delaware's football team isn't in the more prestigious Super Bowl series, it's still considered a minor powerhouse. It has even produced a championship quarterback; in 2013, Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco led the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl victory.

Although there were many tough times studying, there were also many enjoyable memories of gathering with friends and watching rugby games.

It was here that he met his first girlfriend, and then many more, and that place holds countless memories, both beautiful and painful.

However, after his rebirth, Chen Yiran's relationship with the University of Delaware became somewhat complicated. Although he received an acceptance letter, he did not actually enroll.

He didn't even finish his language center studies. Plans can't keep up with changes. He originally wanted to transfer schools, but in the end, he didn't even go to school and directly became a technology leader.

However, Chen Yiran believes that if he calls Delaware his alma mater, the University of Delaware will definitely not refuse and will wholeheartedly support it.

Chen Yiran's identity is quite extraordinary. Not only can he donate money himself, but his story is also attractive enough to make it easier for Delaware University to solicit money and attract students.

The American university donation system is unique in the world. It is not a charity driven by morality, but a precisely functioning business mechanism.

Every university of any size has a development office, where not educators sit, but a group of fundraising professionals on performance-based bonuses.

They devised various strategies and used various means to provide emotional value to graduating alumni.

The more dedicated alumni associations will send emails to graduates every month and send greetings on important holidays, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even the Spring Festival.

The sports department also frequently sends out emails to sell tickets and continuously updates information on school sports events. They also promote targeted donations; for example, donating a certain amount might earn you a personal letter from the principal and an invitation to exclusive events. Donating $10,000 might give you the opportunity to name a seat on the field for a specific period.

Annual donations are the most straightforward; a year after graduation, many schools send greeting emails inquiring about graduates' lives and inviting small donations of around $100. Every five years, there are anniversary events, and then every ten years, there are greetings.

The school's current student volunteers also call graduates to follow up, using the voices of these young people to evoke the graduates' memories of campus life and solicit donations.

Homecoming is a key event. This festival originated from an event held at the University of Illinois in 1910 and takes place every fall after the start of the academic year. It is an alumni gathering that lasts for about a week.

The school organizes events such as rugby games, parades, and dances, and often elects a homecoming king and queen through voting.

Every year during homecoming season, the school receives a lot of donations thanks to the returning students.

American universities also treat donors differently. They categorize donors into several levels and provide different services accordingly.

The work of the development office is no different from that of the fundraising department of an investment bank, except that they are not selling stocks, but rather an intangible emotion and status.

For someone of Chen Yiran's stature, it would definitely involve large donations, starting at a minimum of one million US dollars, which could even secure certain naming rights.

This is also clearly priced; a laboratory typically costs between $500,000 and $2 million, depending on the discipline and equipment costs. A teaching building usually needs to cover 25% to 50% of the total construction cost.

Even chair professorships can be named. If Chen Yiran donates two or three million to pay professors' salaries, then these professors can become Chen Yiran Chair Professors of Computer Science.

If it's about naming a college, for example, changing the College of Engineering to the Chen Yiran College of Engineering, it would cost at least 20 to 50 million yuan, and you'd have to negotiate with the university for the specifics.

Chen Yiran handed all these figures over to TED, which is very professional in this area.

Donations from high-net-worth clients to universities are standard practice. The donation agreement specifies the purpose of the donation, the amount to be paid in installments, the effective period of the donation, and whether the donor has the right to withdraw the donation if the school violates the terms of the agreement. These are no different from ordinary business negotiations.

Chen Yiran's favor was an unexpected boon for the University of Delaware, and they reacted swiftly upon receiving the news.

In his first phone call with TED, Hill, the senior deputy director of the development office, stopped using standard rhetoric and stopped mentioning anything about understanding the school's strategic plans.

She asked directly, "Is Mr. Chen interested in establishing a new center named after him? Our School of Engineering and Applied Science is currently advancing in the field of computer architecture."

TED has received Chen Yiran's direct instruction: "Yes, Mr. Chen Yiran hopes to invest 50 million US dollars to start teaching and research work in the new discipline of AI at the University of Delaware."

This is the seed funding, and an additional five million US dollars will be provided annually for continued operation.

"I am very grateful to Mr. Chen Yiran for his support of our alma mater. I will have the principal contact you as soon as possible."

This urgent attitude stems from a lack of other options; the University of Delaware has been severely short of funds in recent years.

President Patrick Hacker took office in 2007. He had previously served as dean of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for six years. The saying "it's hard to say when to go from luxury to frugality" perfectly describes Patrick Hacker's current feeling.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is the world's number one business school for MBA programs. Most of its graduates go on to hold key positions on Wall Street and in top management consulting firms, or in various government departments or businesses. Many others have even founded and developed their own companies.

It's easy to imagine how powerful their endowments are. Sixty-four billionaire alumni have contributed to Wharton's $14 billion endowment. Penn's overall endowment has reached $7 billion.

In comparison, the University of Delaware's endowment fund is only one billion US dollars, which is not even among the top 100 universities in the United States.

The Delaware state government’s annual funding has been cut since the 2008 financial crisis, and by 2012 it was only 12% of the school’s total budget.

Federal research funding is also shrinking; joining the Association of American Universities, improving the ranking of doctoral programs, and building decent interdisciplinary laboratories all require private donations.

This is also why the University of Delaware began to open up bilingual admissions in 2009 and aggressively recruit international students.

That evening, Chen Yiran received a call from Patrick Harker.

Patrick Harker was very polite, even a little obsequious: "Thank you so much, Chen. You probably don't know, but the situation at the school is very bad right now. Although everyone says the subprime crisis is over, that's clearly not the case for the school."

Even if the economy improves, most people, including the government, will experience a deeper sense of crisis in the short term due to the subprime mortgage crisis. This is particularly bad news for educational institutions like universities.

Don't worry, we can discuss any requirements you may have regarding your donation. We will strictly adhere to your requests regarding how it will be used.

"I don't have any specific requirements regarding donations, as long as they are used for cutting-edge research. However, there are a few people who hope the university can give them some preferential treatment; they are all acquaintances of mine in Delaware. Is that possible?"

"No problem, just give me the list. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'll make sure they graduate smoothly. Are there any other requirements?"

Chen Yiran thought for a moment and said, "Dr. Henderson, the director of ELI, and two other teachers, could you please give them a raise?"

"Haha, no problem, I'll add them to your donation list. By the way, when do you have time to come back to Delaware? We need to hold a donation ceremony, right?"

"It should be done sooner rather than later, ideally in November, as I might be quite busy towards the end of the year."

Patrick Hacker extended a direct invitation: "No problem. If you have time, our National Agenda event will be held on November 15th. Would you like to attend?"

Chen Yiran smiled. He had worked so hard to make a plate of dumplings, and finally, he was getting this bowl of vinegar: "Okay, then I'll go take a look."