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Recent Private Gifts to Higher Education: Support for Research on Healthy Aging and Other Biomedical Issues

By Chronicle Staff May 20, 2018

The sciences, and especially life and health sciences, got strong support from donors whose gifts were announced in April and May. As a result, Brown University has the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, the University of Maryland School of Medicine will establish the Robert E. Fischell Center for Biomedical Innovation, and the University of Southern California has created the Ney Center for Healthspan Science.

RankInstitutionDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1.Amherst Collegeanonymousa graduate of the college$100 millionchallenge gift to match other gifts to the college’s capital campaign, which aims to raise funds for student aid, faculty support, a new interdisciplinary science center, and other causes
1.Brown U.Robert J. and Nancy D. CarneyRobert Carney, a 1961 graduate of Brown and a member of its Board of Trustees, is chairman of Vacation Publications, in Houston, and was founder of Texas Air Corporation, which owned Continental Airlines and other airlines. Nancy Carney is a former television-news producer.$100 millionsupport to help the Brown Institute for Brain Science work toward developing new treatments and cures for neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; the institute will be renamed the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science
3.Mary Baldwin U.Bertie Deming Smithtrustee emerita of Mary Baldwin; widow of John Winton Deming, a physician and an associate professor of clinical medicine at Tulane University who died in 1996; and of Joe Dorsey Smith Jr., a newspaper publisher in Louisiana who died in 2008$25 million (pledge)endowment support

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The sciences, and especially life and health sciences, got strong support from donors whose gifts were announced in April and May. As a result, Brown University has the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, the University of Maryland School of Medicine will establish the Robert E. Fischell Center for Biomedical Innovation, and the University of Southern California has created the Ney Center for Healthspan Science.

RankInstitutionDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1. Amherst College anonymous a graduate of the college $100 million challenge gift to match other gifts to the college’s capital campaign, which aims to raise funds for student aid, faculty support, a new interdisciplinary science center, and other causes
1. Brown U. Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Robert Carney, a 1961 graduate of Brown and a member of its Board of Trustees, is chairman of Vacation Publications, in Houston, and was founder of Texas Air Corporation, which owned Continental Airlines and other airlines. Nancy Carney is a former television-news producer. $100 million support to help the Brown Institute for Brain Science work toward developing new treatments and cures for neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; the institute will be renamed the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science
3. Mary Baldwin U. Bertie Deming Smith trustee emerita of Mary Baldwin; widow of John Winton Deming, a physician and an associate professor of clinical medicine at Tulane University who died in 1996; and of Joe Dorsey Smith Jr., a newspaper publisher in Louisiana who died in 2008 $25 million (pledge) endowment support
3. U. of Virginia Law School Karsh Family Foundation (Bruce and Martha Karsh) Bruce Karsh is a co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, in Los Angeles. The couple met while attending the law school. $25 million (pledge) support for full-tuition scholarships for law students, establishment of the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, and creation of professorships in the new center
5. Indiana U. of Pennsylvania John and Charlene Kopchick John Kopchick is a professor of molecular and cellular biology at Ohio University. He helped invent a drug called Somavert for people with acromegaly, a disorder that causes the body to overproduce growth hormone. Charlene Kopchick is an assistant dean of students at Ohio University. The couple are Indiana University of Pennsylvania alumni. $23 million support for science and mathematics efforts that are part of the university’s capital campaign
5. Lipscomb U. anonymous n/a $23 million creation of new facilities at the College of Business and support for its programs, faculty, and students
7. U. of Maryland at College Park Barry P. Gossett, and his family Barry Gossett is the retired chairman and chief executive of Acton Mobile Industries, which manufactured mobile units for construction sites. The company was purchased by Williams Scotsman in 2017 for $235 million. Gossett is also vice chair of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents. $21.3 million establishment of the Barry and Mary Gossett Center for Academic and Personal Excellence, which will provide career services and other assistance for student athletes
8. Dartmouth College Rick and Allison Magnuson Rick Magnuson, a 1979 Dartmouth graduate, founded GI Partners, a private-equity firm in San Francisco. $20 million establishment of the Magnuson Family Center for Entrepreneurship, an incubator for alumni, students, and faculty who want to start business ventures and social enterprises
8. U. of Maryland School of Medicine Robert E. Fischell Robert Fischell is an inventor of medical devices, founder of Angel Medical Systems, in New Jersey, and a former chief engineer of the space department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He also serves on the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Board of Visitors. $20 million establishment of the Robert E. Fischell Center for Biomedical Innovation and support for the construction of the Health Sciences Research Facility III building
8. U. of Southern California Mei-Lee Ney Mei-Lee Ney is president of Richard Ney & Associates Asset Management, an investment advisory firm founded by her late husband. $20 million creation of the Ney Center for Healthspan Science, which will study longevity and healthy aging at the university’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
11. Southwestern U. Jack Garey retired lawyer and businessman in Austin, Tex., who is a life trustee of the university $15 million endowment support to create the Jack and Camille Garey School of Natural Sciences from the university’s natural-sciences program
11. U. of Southern Indiana Foundation William and Mary Stone William Stone is the owner of SS&C, a provider of financial-services technology solutions in Connecticut. $15 million support for the new Health Sciences Center in downtown Evansville, a partnership among the U. of Evansville, the U. of Southern Indiana, and Indiana U.; the center will be named the Stone Family Center for Health Sciences
11. Yale U. Blavatnik Family Foundation (Len Blavatnik) Len Blavatnik is founder and chairman of Access Industries, an investment company with holdings in media and telecommunications, natural resources, chemicals, and real estate. $15 million expansion of the Blavatnik Fund for Innovation at Yale, which Blavatnik established in 2016 with a gift of $10 million, to speed the development of discoveries in the life sciences into commercial applications
14. U. of Colorado at Denver Dr. C.W. Bixler Family Foundation (Don and Maria Johnson) Don Johnson is an architect whose grandfather, C.W. Bixler, was a physician in Boulder, Colo., and a longtime supporter of the University of Colorado system. $12 million (pledge) support for scholarships, international programs, and experiential learning at the College of Architecture and Planning

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 Chronicle of Higher Education maintains a separate list of major gifts of $50 million or more to colleges and universities, dating back to 1967. 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. Grants are excluded. 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.

Correction (7/20/2018, 6:19 p.m.): The original version of this table listed two gifts to the Art Institute of Chicago that should not have been included because they did not meet the criterion of being gifts to higher education. The table has been updated to omit them.

A version of this article appeared in the May 25, 2018, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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