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Recent Private Gifts to Higher Education (October 2017)

By Chronicle Staff October 22, 2017

Among the many large gifts announced in the past few months are a $200-million gift to the University of California at Irvine that will support a stronger focus on interdisciplinary integrative health, and bequests with a total value of $140 million to three universities in North Carolina.

RankInstitutionDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1.U. of California at IrvineHenry and Susan SamueliMr. Samueli is a cofounder of Broadcom, which manufactures semiconductors. The couple are owners of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team.$200 millioncreation of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which will focus on interdisciplinary integrative health; $50 million will go toward construction of a new facility, $5 million for technology and laboratories, and $145 million for an endowment to support up to 15 faculty chairs, scholarships, fellowships, training, research, and clinical services
2.Kenyon CollegeAnonymousn/a$75 millionsupport for construction of a new library and academic quadrangle
3.Wake Forest U.Porter B. ByrumCharlotte, N.C., lawyer and businessman, and a 1942 Wake Forest law-school graduate who died in March at the age of 96$70 million (bequest)endowment for scholarships

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Among the many large gifts announced in the past few months are a $200-million gift to the University of California at Irvine that will support a stronger focus on interdisciplinary integrative health, and bequests with a total value of $140 million to three universities in North Carolina.

RankInstitutionDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1. U. of California at Irvine Henry and Susan Samueli Mr. Samueli is a cofounder of Broadcom, which manufactures semiconductors. The couple are owners of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team. $200 million creation of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which will focus on interdisciplinary integrative health; $50 million will go toward construction of a new facility, $5 million for technology and laboratories, and $145 million for an endowment to support up to 15 faculty chairs, scholarships, fellowships, training, research, and clinical services
2. Kenyon College Anonymous n/a $75 million support for construction of a new library and academic quadrangle
3. Wake Forest U. Porter B. Byrum Charlotte, N.C., lawyer and businessman, and a 1942 Wake Forest law-school graduate who died in March at the age of 96 $70 million (bequest) endowment for scholarships
4. Iowa State U. Jerry and Debbie Ivy Mr. Ivy is president and chief executive of Auto-Chlor System, a California company that provides cleaning machines and other products to the food-service, health-care, and lodging industries, and a 1953 Iowa State alumnus. Ms. Ivy is an Auto-Chlor executive. $50 million (pledge) endowment for the College of Business, which will be renamed for the donors, to support scholarships, faculty, and programs in entrepreneurship, supply-chain management, business analytics, and other areas
4. Nova Southeastern U. Patel Family Foundation (Kiran and Pallavi Patel) Kiran Patel, a cardiologist, is chairman of America’s 1st Choice Holdings of Florida, an umbrella corporation for insurance companies; founder of WellCare Health Plans, an HMO he sold in 2002; and a real-estate investor. His wife, Pallavi Patel, is a pediatrician. $50 million development of a new Tampa Bay Regional Campus in Clearwater, Fla., which will house the renamed Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine and some programs of the renamed Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences; the couple also provided 27 acres of land and property valued at $150 million, which the university will rent from them
4. Oglethorpe U. Q. William Hammack Jr. retired president and chief executive of C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., in Georgia, and a 1973 Oglethorpe alumnus $50 million creation of the Q. William Hammack, Jr. School of Business
4. U. of Kansas David Booth co-founder of Dimensional Fund Advisors, an international finance firm $50 million (pledge) improvements to the university’s Memorial Stadium, construction of an indoor football-practice facility, and other support for athletics
4. U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor Stephen Ross founder and chairman of the Related Companies, a New York real-estate development firm, and owner of the Miami Dolphins football team $50 million endowment for the Ross School of Business to support career-development programs, action-based learning experiences, and resources for attracting and developing faculty members
9. Babson College Robert and Jan Weissman Mr. Weissman is a co-founder of Cognizant Technology Solutions, a New Jersey information-consulting company, and a member of the college’s Board of Trustees. The couple have multiple degrees from Babson. $36.3 million (pledge) unrestricted use, though part of it will support construction of a new building
10. Queens U. of Charlotte Porter B. Byrum Charlotte, N.C., lawyer and businessman who died in March at the age of 96 $35 million (bequest) funds for scholarships
10. Wingate U. Porter B. Byrum Charlotte, N.C., lawyer and businessman, and a former member of Wingate’s Board of Trustees, who died in March at the age of 96 $35 million (bequest) funds for scholarships
12. U. of Arizona Edward Bass heir to an oil fortune who co-founded Biosphere 2 as an experimental scientific entity in 1984; the university took over its management in 2011 $30 million endowment for Biosphere 2, a closed ecological system where researchers study environmental change, natural-resources management, and policies to protect ecosystems
13. Tulane U. Bertie Deming Smith, in honor of her late husband, John W. Deming John Deming, who died in 1996 at age 76, earned his medical degree from the university in 1944, and practiced internal medicine for 35 years. $25 million support for faculty research in the university’s department of medicine, which will be renamed for John W. Deming
13. U. of Nevada at Las Vegas Foundation Anonymous n/a $25 million support for construction of a medical-education building at the university’s School of Medicine; the gift matched a $25-million allocation from the Nevada Legislature that stipulated that the university must raise an equal amount
13. U. of Texas at Austin R. Steven Hicks owner and executive chairman of Capstar Partners, a private investment firm in Austin, former vice chairman of the radio-broadcasting and media company AMFM, and vice chairman of the university’s Board of Regents $25 million support for the university’s School of Social Work, including an endowment for scholarships, support for research and teaching on addictions, and funds for teaching fund-raising skills
16. U. of Missouri at Columbia David and Wendy Novak Mr. Novak is an advertising and marketing executive who is a co-founder and retired chairman and chief executive of the restaurant company Yum! Brands. $21.6 million establishment of the Novak Leadership Institute within the university’s School of Journalism
17. U. of San Francisco Gordon Getty a composer, philanthropist, and 1956 university alumnus who is a son of J. Paul Getty and an heir to the Getty Oil fortune $15 million (pledge) establishment of an honors college; the gift includes $7-million endowment for scholarships, a $2-million endowment for visiting artists and scholars, and $6 million for start-up costs and student research, mentorship, and study-abroad programs
17. U. of Notre Dame Tripp and Sheila Smith Mr. Smith, a 1987 Notre Dame alumnus, is a senior managing director of the Blackstone Group and a cofounder of its credit arm, GSO Capital Partners. $15 million support for a recreation facility in Notre Dame’s new Duncan Student Center

Note: Gifts and biographical information were compiled from news articles, news releases, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s database of charitable gifts. The database compiles gifts of $1 million or more from 2005 to the present. The value of gifts is based on information from institutions or donors at the time the gifts were promised or received. In cases of stock, property, art, and other noncash donations, actual value may have increased or decreased since the gifts were pledged or received. Gifts of the same amount are listed alphabetically by institution. Information on gifts can be sent to gifts@philanthropy.com. Questions or comments on the Chronicle List should be sent to Ruth Hammond.

A version of this article appeared in the October 27, 2017, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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