“Investing in scholarships is investing in the future,” says Imran Khan (BSBA ’00), of his recent $1.25 million gift to the University of Denver to support student scholarships.
Khan, a DU alumnus, member of the DU Board of Trustees and CEO of Verishop, made the transformational gift because of the lasting impact scholarships have on students—who will be known as Khan Family Scholars—and on DU itself. “Scholarships meet students’ current financial need, and they also enrich the college experience for all DU students, allowing DU to recruit the best and brightest,” Khan says.
“The University is grateful to Imran for establishing the Khan Family Scholars at the University of Denver,” says Chancellor Jeremy Haefner. “It is especially meaningful when our alumni invest, as Imran has, in the University. He has experienced firsthand DU’s commitment to ensuring our students’ success, and now, he will play an integral role in upholding that commitment and increasing access to a DU education.”
A native of Bangladesh who came to the United States to attend DU, Khan says that much of who he is today, professionally and personally, is because of his DU experience. After college, he built his career in finance, serving in top leadership positions at JPMorgan, Alibaba Group and Snap Inc. He and his wife recently founded Verishop, an e-commerce company.
Khan, who became an annual donor many years ago, made his recent gift in the form of limited partner shares in an investment fund for which he is co-founder and CEO. So the more he grows the fund, the more it will benefit DU and ultimately the students who receive scholarships.
He hopes that others will join him in supporting scholarships to expand access and affordability of a DU education. “Giving is very important, primarily in an environment like this. There is so much inequality in many ways, and it’s important that people who are privileged share some of their success with others. Creating positive change takes the involvement of a lot of people, so I hope others will offer their support as well.”