Education is the cornerstone on which Francis E. James Jr. '66, '67 built two very successful careers, first in the U.S. Air Force and then as founder and chairman of James Investment Research Inc. Two of his degrees were earned at Rensselaer.

“Rensselaer is a great institution with top- notch students and professors,” says James, who received his Master of Science from Rensselaer in 1966 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1967. “I wouldn’t have had the business opportunities I’ve had without that education, and without the help of my professors,” he says. “My experience was wonderful.”

James was on active duty during his Rensselaer years, sent there by the Air Force in recognition of his potential and his often-stated desire for more education. He later ran a graduate education program for the military, retiring in 1974 as a colonel. In the years since, as James was building his investment firm, he has served in a number of advisory capacities for Rensselaer, along with supporting Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management and Technology and the Annual Fund.

Recently, he took advantage of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to establish a permanent scholarship at Rensselaer. “My heart is always with trying to help students and professors,” James says. For a long time, he says, he wished one could take money from a retirement fund to provide immediate help for a worthwhile organization, rather than having to wait and leave the money as a bequest.

When the Pension Protection Act passed into law last year, that’s exactly what James did, rolling money from his company retirement fund into an IRA, and then using the IRA to make major tax-free gifts to Rensselaer. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to share some of your success,” James says. “I can boost the school that was so good to me.”

Learn more about the Pension Protection Act.