| 1. | Columbia U. College of Physicians and Surgeons | P. Roy and Diana T. Vagelos | Dr. Vagelos, a 1954 alumnus of the college, is a retired chairman and chief executive of the Merck & Company pharmaceutical corporation, and a co-founder of the biopharmaceutical company Theravance. Ms. Vagelos, a 1955 Barnard College alumnus, is a vice chair of Barnard’s Board of Trustees. | $250 million | $150 million to create an endowment for financial aid to qualified medical students, including full-tuition scholarships for those with the greatest need; $100 million to support precision-medicine programs, scientific research, and a new professorship in the college, which will be renamed the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons |
| 2. | U. of Cambridge | Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund (Ray and Dagmar Dolby) | Mr. Dolby, who died in 2013 at the age of 80, founded Dolby Laboratories, a San Francisco developer of audio equipment. He earned his doctorate from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory in 1961. | $114.1 million | support for research and a professorship at Cavendish Laboratory; the flagship building of the physics-research laboratory, which is being redeveloped, will be named the Ray Dolby Centre |
| 3. | West Texas A&M U. | Paul Engler and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation | Mr. Engler is a cattle rancher in Amarillo, Tex., and a co-founder and chairman of Cactus Feeders. Ms. Engler died in 1996. | $80 million (pledge) | pledge of at least $1 million a year over the next 80 years, to be split evenly between two university colleges, which have been renamed the Paul Engler College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences and the Paul and Virginia Engler College of Business |
| 4. | Rochester Institute of Technology | Austin McChord | A 2009 RIT alumnus, Mr. McChord founded his cybersecurity start-up company, Datto, in 2007. Vista Equity Partners acquired the company for $1.5 billion in December and merged it with Autotask. Mr. McChord is chief executive of the merged company. | $50 million | $30 million to support creativity and entrepreneurship programs at the university, including support for “entrepreneurial gap year” fellowships and construction of a new Maker Library & Innovative Learning Complex of the Future; $20 million to attract and retain cybersecurity and artificial-intelligence faculty and graduate students and expand the university’s facilities in those areas |
| 5. | Gustavus Adolphus College | Anonymous | alumni couple | $25 million | $10 million to endow the Center for Career Development, $10 million to support scholarships and financial aid, and $5 million for capital projects on campus |
| 5. | U. of Delaware | Carol A. Ammon and Marie Pinizzotto | Ms. Ammon, a university trustee, is a founder and retired chairman of Endo Pharmaceuticals, in Pennsylvania. Dr. Pinizzotto, an obstetrician/gynecologist who earned an M.B.A. from Delaware in 2008, is chief executive and executive director of the Carol A. Ammon Foundation. | $25 million | support for construction of a biopharmaceutical-innovation research facility |
| 5. | U. of Notre Dame | James F. (Jay) Flaherty III and Mary Hesburgh Flaherty | Mr. Flaherty, a 1979 alumnus and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees, is a former chairman and chief executive of HCP, a real-estate-investment-trust company. Ms. Flaherty, a 1979 alumna, is a niece of the late Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, who led Notre Dame from 1952 to 1987. | $25 million | $20 million to help renovate and maintain Corby Hall, the on-campus residence for Congregation of Holy Cross priests and brothers; $5 million to support services for aging members of that religious community |
| 5. | U. of Washington | Daniel R. and Pam Baty | Mr. Baty is a founder and chairman of the Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Management, which operates hospitals and senior-housing facilities in Asia and the United States. | $25 million | creation of the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, a collaborative research program of the university’s medical school, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital |
| 5. | U. of Washington | Jeffrey and Susan Brotman | Mr. Brotman, who died in August, was a co-founder and chairman of Costco, the big-box-store company headquartered in Seattle. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the university and served on its Board of Regents. | $25 million | creation of the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, a collaborative research program of the university’s medical school, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital |
| 10. | U. of Connecticut Foundation | Peter J. Werth | founder, chief executive, president, and chairman of ChemWerth, a generic-drug development and supply company in Connecticut | $22.5 million (pledge) | $2.5 million to establish the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, with the remaining $20 million as a planned estate gift to endow the institute’s operations; the NextGen Residence Hall has been renamed the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower in his honor |
| 11. | U. of San Diego | Donald R. and Ellie Knauss | Mr. Knauss is the retired executive chairman and chief executive of Clorox, which makes bleach and other household chemicals. He is chair of the university’s Board of Trustees. | $20 million | support for construction of a building for the School of Business; the building will be named for the couple |
| 12. | Virginia Tech | Anonymous | alumni couple | $15.2 million | creation of a student-athlete performance center |
| 13. | Southern Methodist U. | Nancy Ann Hunt Foundation (Ray L. and Nancy Ann Hunt) | Mr. Hunt is executive chairman of Hunt Consolidated, a Dallas holding group of oil-and-gas-exploration and production, refining, and other companies. He is a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. He and his wife are 1965 alumni. | $15 million | endowment for the Hunt Leadership Scholars Program |
| 13. | U. of Washington | William H. Gates III and Melinda Gates | Mr. Gates is a co-founder of Microsoft. | $15 million | support for completion of a new classroom and lab building, which the university has named the Bill & Melinda Gates Center |