Mr. Wyss’ passion for innovation and discovery runs throughout his philanthropy.
As part of its work to expand economic opportunity and empower communities, the Wyss Foundation supports groundbreaking research to shift paradigms, bridge divisions, and solve some of our world’s most pressing problems. The Foundation has committed resources to support environmental, economic, and medical exploration. Through our Fellows and Scholars programs, the Foundation is also working to empower the next generation of leaders who will help us tackle these problems head on.
Beyond the Foundation, Mr. Wyss also supports numerous philanthropic endeavors in medicine, education, and the arts.
Medicine
Building on the contributions of his company, Synthes Inc., to trauma medicine, Mr. Wyss’ philanthropy has helped researchers and surgeons develop and apply ground-breaking new technologies to help patients recover from musculoskeletal injuries. In 2008, he established the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.
Mr. Wyss has also established endowed chairs in medicine and supports research, education, training at a wide range of universities and hospitals, including Clemson University, the University of Washington, the University of Mississippi, the University of Maryland, the University of South Alabama, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Mr. Wyss helped establish the AO Foundation, a medically guided nonprofit led by an international group of surgeons who specialize in the treatment of trauma and disorders of the musculoskeletal system.
Education and the Arts
Mr. Wyss’ philanthropy provides scholarships and fellowships in conservation, music, medicine, business and the arts at institutions around the world, including in Africa, Europe, and the United States. With a 2004 donation from Mr. Wyss, the Harvard Business School created the Wyss Doctoral Endowment program that provides awards for innovative dissertation research, fellowships for doctoral students, field research, and course development.
Mr. Wyss supported the development of environmental management cases for Harvard’s MBA Program and was integral to the development of its social enterprise program. His significant contributions to the Beyeler Foundation have helped conserve and display some of the world’s most important pieces of modern art.