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Recent Private Gifts to Higher Education: Tufts Gets $10.8 Million to Study Extreme Selfishness

By  Chronicle Staff
April 21, 2019

Both Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis’s School of Medicine received large gifts devoted to the study of dementia, while the Tufts University School of Medicine received a donation that will allow it to study the neurological causes of extreme selfishness. Other gifts will be used for buildings, integrative medicine, work-force training, and scholarships. (Click on the plus sign in the “Rank” column to see the purpose of each gift.)

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Both Arizona State University and Washington University in St. Louis’s School of Medicine received large gifts devoted to the study of dementia, while the Tufts University School of Medicine received a donation that will allow it to study the neurological causes of extreme selfishness. Other gifts will be used for buildings, integrative medicine, work-force training, and scholarships. (Click on the plus sign in the “Rank” column to see the purpose of each gift.)

RankInstitutionDonorDonor backgroundGift valuePurpose
1. Arizona State U. J. Orin and Charlene Edson J. Orin Edson founded Bayliner Marine, a powerboat and yacht manufacturer he sold for $425 million in 1986. He also owned Westport Yards, a yacht maker he sold in 2014 for an undisclosed amount. $50 million $25 million each for the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, which will be renamed the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and for the Biodesign Institute; the money will support interdisciplinary research on dementia, and training for nurses and caregivers
1. U. of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences P. Roy and Diana T. Vagelos P. Roy Vagelos, a 1950 Penn alumnus and former chairman of its Board of Trustees, is a retired chairman and chief executive of Merck & Company, and current chairman at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. $50 million support for a new science center to be named for the donors; it will house the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, which will bring together researchers from Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences and its School of Engineering and Applied Science to solve energy-related issues, and the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, a dual-degree program run jointly by the college and school
3. Columbia U. Louis and Gloria Flanzer Philanthropic Trust (Gloria Milstein Flanzer) Louis Flanzer was a real-estate investor who died in 2013 at age 94. Gloria Flanzer, whose brothers Seymour and Paul were commercial developers in New York, died in 2016 at age 87. $32.5 million (bequest) endowment for the cardiology division of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons; the division was renamed the Seymour, Paul, and Gloria Milstein Division of Cardiology after the donor and her late brothers
4. Stony Brook U. (SUNY) Marilyn Simons Marilyn Simons, who earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in economics at Stony Brook, is president of the Simons Foundation. Her husband, James, is the founder and chair of Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund. $25 million support for the new Center for Applied Economics and Public Policy
5. Longwood U. Joan Brock Joan Brock’s husband, Macon Brock Jr., who died in 2017, co-founded Dollar Tree, a chain of retail stores based in Chesapeake, Va. $15 million support for construction of the Joan Perry Brock Center, a convocation and events center that will also house the university’s basketball teams
5. U. of Arizona Andrew Weil a clinical professor of medicine and professor of public health at the university, who founded the True Food Kitchen restaurant chain and advocates for alternative medicine $15 million naming gift for the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and endowment of two professorships and programs in integrative medicine
5. Washington U. in St. Louis School of Medicine Rodger and Paula Riney Rodger Riney founded the discount brokerage firm Scottrade and led the company until it was sold to TD Ameritrade, in 2017, for more than $4 billion. $15 million support to speed up research and develop of new treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, with $10 million for Alzheimer’s and $5 million for Parkinson’s studies
8. Tufts U. School of Medicine Ghahreman Khodadad retired neurosurgeon in Crittenden, Ky., whose gift amount reflects the expected value of donated farmland in Kentucky and Ohio
$10.8 million
establishment of the Ghahreman Khodadad Center for the Study of Excessive Pathological Selfishness, which will conduct research on the neurological underpinnings of extreme self-centeredness, and endowments for a professorship and research fund
9. Georgetown U. Law Center Scott Ginsburg co-founder and former chief executive of the Chancellor Media Corporation, a radio-broadcasting company in Dallas; a founder of the Boardwalk Auto Group luxury-car dealerships; and a 1978 graduate of Georgetown Law. $10.5 million expansion of the Law Center’s campus near Capitol Hill
10. Arapahoe Community College Sturm Family Foundation (Donald and Susan Sturm) Donald Sturm is chairman of the Sturm Financial Group, a bank holding company, in Denver. Susan Sturm is the company’s vice chair and chief financial officer. $10 million (challenge pledge) support for the new Sturm Collaboration Campus at Castle Rock, Colo., which aligns applied learning and work-force training with educational offerings in such areas as cybersecurity, business, and health care
10. Chapman U. anonymous European woman $10 million unrestricted gift that will be used to strengthen the university’s financial health after its completion of a new residence hall, which will be known as “The K,” in honor of the donor
10. Maine Maritime Academy Capt. William Bullard a U.S. Navy veteran who died in 2017 at the age of 80; a 1959 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy; and a former master mariner and ship’s pilot. $10 million (bequest) support for scholarships
13. Arcadia U. Ellington Beavers Beavers was a retired chemist and founder of Biocoat, a Pennsylvania company that develops biomaterial coatings for medical devices. He arranged to use Arcadia laboratories for his research in exchange for offering his expertise to professors and students. Beavers, who died in 2015 at age 98, gave the university a 16-percent ownership share in his company, which was acquired by 1315 Capital in 2018. $8.6 million (bequest) establishment of a fund whose interest will finance efforts to be detailed in the university’s forthcoming strategic plan
14. Purdue U. Northwest Nils K. Nelson Nelson was an organic-chemistry professor at Purdue University Calumet (which later became part of Purdue University Northwest) for 29 years until his retirement, in 1991; he died in 2017 at the age of 90 $8 million (bequest) support for student scholarships, professorships, and a new building on the Hammond campus, which the university will name the Nils K. Nelson Bioscience Innovation Building

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 (4/22/2019, 5:13 p.m.): The original version of this table said that James and Lois Archer gave Belmont University $10 million for an endowment for scholarships. The value of the gift from the Archers was actually $5 million, and the university made a $5 million match, for a total of $10 million. The value of the gift is now below the table’s cutoff point for inclusion. The item has been removed, and other gifts were reranked.

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A version of this article appeared in the April 26, 2019, issue.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
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