New Undergrad Fellowship Established in Honor of Patrick L. Bajari

Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund 

The University of Minnesota Department of Economics has established the Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund to honor the legacy of Pat Bajari—a pioneering scholar, a trailblazer in applying economics at scale in industry, and a Minnesota economist through and through.  In recognition of Pat’s deep impact at Keystone, colleagues there are joining the University of MN in building this fund to support undergraduate research in the spirit of Pat’s work and mentorship. This fund follows the October 24–25, 2025 conference held to celebrate Pat’s legacy, where both academic and industry colleagues—including partners at Keystone—came together to honor his extraordinary contributions and to carry his impact forward.

Pat’s ties to Minnesota ran deep. He grew up here and is the only person in the history of Minnesota Economics to have been an undergraduate (‘92 BS in Economics and Mathematics), a doctoral student (‘97 PhD), and later a member of the faculty. Even after moving to Amazon and later Keystone, he remained closely connected to the department, returning regularly to invest in Minnesota students and to support the work of the department.

One of Pat’s enduring commitments was to Minnesota undergraduate students. He believed in their potential, their work ethic, and the importance of giving them opportunities to excel by contributing meaningfully to research. When asked why he returned to teach at Minnesota after opportunities at other leading programs, Pat answered without hesitation:

“Because I love the University of Minnesota. It’s the land-grant mission and the strong work ethic of the students here. Personally—I was taught by some of the greatest professors in the world.”

The Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund will carry this commitment forward—supporting undergraduates while advancing faculty research in exactly the way Pat did as a Minnesota faculty member and beyond.

The Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund will:

• Support undergraduates as research assistants, building hands-on research skills through work on faculty research projects.
• Provide faculty mentorship on the student’s own research, helping students develop and pursue independent research questions.
• Advance faculty research through dedicated undergraduate research assistant support.

This undergraduate research program has grown steadily over the past decade—from just a few students to 16 students annually—offering opportunities that are rare even among major research universities. The Bajari Fund will ensure that this opportunity is permanent and able to expand.

Our initial goal is to build the endowment to $100,000, which will provide a recurring annual award of approximately $4,500 to support an undergraduate research assistant position each year. As the fund grows, the number and size of awards will grow as well.

To help launch the fund, Keystone has generously committed to match dollar for dollar all gifts, up to a total of $25,000.

We invite you to join us—alongside Keystone—in honoring Pat’s legacy by supporting the Patrick L. Bajari Undergraduate Research Fund.

For gift conversations or to give appreciated assets, please contact Colleen Donahue at [email protected].  All contributions are tax-deductible.