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Recent Private Gifts to Higher Education (September 2017)

By  Chronicle Staff
September 24, 2017

Among the largest gifts to universities announced in recent months are ones to provide treatment of traumatic brain injury, support early-childhood programs to promote brain development, build an oceangoing research ship, and establish a center to offer continuing education for judges. A community college in New Jersey received an $8-million gift to help construct a new building.

RankRecipientDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1.Saint Joseph’s U.James Maguire Sr. and Frances MaguireMr. Maguire is founder of the Maguire Insurance Agency (later Philadelphia Insurance Companies), who sold his family’s share of the business for $1 billion in 2008 when it merged with Tokio Marine Group. He is a 1958 alumnus of Saint Joseph’s who credits the institution with helping him overcome his dyslexia.$50 millionendowment for scholarships and support for a program in risk management and insurance
2.Gustavus Adolphus CollegeAnonymousalumni couple$40 millionsupport for scholarships, the renovation of the Nobel Hall of Science, annual operating funds, and the endowment
3.U. of Colorado, Anschutz Medical CampusBernard and Billi MarcusMr. Marcus is a co-founder of Home Depot, in Atlanta.$38 million (pledge)support for the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, which will provide treatment for traumatic brain injury, most notably among retired athletes and military veterans

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Among the largest gifts to universities announced in recent months are ones to provide treatment of traumatic brain injury, support early-childhood programs to promote brain development, build an oceangoing research ship, and establish a center to offer continuing education for judges. A community college in New Jersey received an $8-million gift to help construct a new building.

RankRecipientDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1. Saint Joseph’s U. James Maguire Sr. and Frances Maguire Mr. Maguire is founder of the Maguire Insurance Agency (later Philadelphia Insurance Companies), who sold his family’s share of the business for $1 billion in 2008 when it merged with Tokio Marine Group. He is a 1958 alumnus of Saint Joseph’s who credits the institution with helping him overcome his dyslexia. $50 million endowment for scholarships and support for a program in risk management and insurance
2. Gustavus Adolphus College Anonymous alumni couple $40 million support for scholarships, the renovation of the Nobel Hall of Science, annual operating funds, and the endowment
3. U. of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus Bernard and Billi Marcus Mr. Marcus is a co-founder of Home Depot, in Atlanta. $38 million (pledge) support for the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, which will provide treatment for traumatic brain injury, most notably among retired athletes and military veterans
4. Dakota State U. T. Denny Sanford, and Miles and Lisa Beacom Mr. Sanford is owner of Premier Bank, which offers credit cards to high-risk borrowers, and Mr. Beacom is the bank’s president and chief executive. $30 million support for construction of a new building, Madison Cyber Labs, for classified work on cybersecurity; endowment for scholarships; money to hire faculty and staff, and expand academic programs; the College of Computing will be renamed the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences to honor two of the donors
5. New York U., Langone Hospital-Brooklyn Bezos Family Foundation (Mike and Jackie Bezos and their children) Mr. and Ms. Bezos are the parents of Jeff Bezos, who founded the online retailer Amazon. $25 million support for early-childhood programs based on early brain development, advancement of mother-baby care, and help for families with young children
6. California State U. at Northridge Younes and Soraya Sarah Nazarian Mr. Nazarian founded Nazarian Enterprises, a Los Angeles company that invests in alternative energy, logistics technology, aerospace, and real estate. $17 million support for the Valley Performing Arts Center
7. Duke U. , Nicholas School of the Environment Grainger Family Descendants Fund (Grainger family) The family owns W.W. Grainger, a Chicago-based industrial supplier of motors, lighting, plumbing, tools, and other products. $11 million support to build and operate an offshore research ship at the Duke Marine Lab that will also serve as a classroom
8. Fordham U. Stephen and Kim Bepler Mr. Bepler is a Fordham alumnus and investment banker who died in 2016. Ms. Bepler is his widow. $10.5 million (estate gift) endowment for professorships in biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics; support for construction of a science building on the university’s Rose Hill campus
9. Indiana U. two anonymous donors n/a $10 million endowment for financial aid for students at the Kelley School of Business and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
9. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford David and Julia Koch Mr. Koch is executive vice president of Koch Industries, an industrial conglomerate. $10 million establishment of a new clinical-research unit within the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University
9. U. of Utah Charles Koch Foundation (Charles (Bud) Koch) Mr. Koch is a banker in Cincinnati. $10 million (matching gift) support for the creation of the Marriner S. Eccles Institute for Economics and Quantitative Analysis in the David Eccles School of Business
12. Colby College Jim and Andrea Crook Mr. Crook, a 1978 Colby graduate and a member of its Board of Trustees, is a private-equity investor and a former chief executive of the health-care IT company IDX Systems Corporation. $8.3 million support for a new basketball arena, which will be named for the donors, and the annual fund
13. Ocean County College Jay and Linda Grunin Foundation (Jay and Linda Grunin) The Grunins are retired lawyers who invest in real estate and other holdings. $8 million support to help construct a new building to house the Ocean County Vocational Technical School
14. Duquesne U., School of Law Thomas Kline Mr. Kline, a 1978 Duquesne Law School alumnus, is a founding partner of Kline & Specter, a personal-injury law firm in Philadelphia. $7.5 million establishment of the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education to offer continuing-education courses for judges in Pennsylvania
14. U. of Michigan at Ann Arbor David and Meredith Kaplan Mr. Kaplan, a 1989 Michigan graduate, co-founded Ares Management, an asset-management firm. Ms. Kaplan, a 1992 Michigan graduate, founded Gratus, a women’s-clothing boutique in Beverly Hills, Calif. $7.5 million support for the athletics department, including funds for building improvements and endowments for the men’s basketball head-coaching position and a scholarship fund

Note: Gifts and biographical information were compiled from news articles, news releases, and The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s database of charitable gifts. The database includes only gifts of $1 million or more in a given year. 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.

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A version of this article appeared in the September 29, 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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