BIG GIFTS

$5 Million to Montclair State University from Anonymous Donor

jayfrost — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:52:32 +0000

Montclair State University has received an anonymous donation of $5 million, the largest such gift in the institution’s history. According to announcement by the University News division, the funds will be used principally to fund scholarships to women and minorities.

$12 Million to University of Illinois from Estate of Arlys Streitmatter Conrad

jayfrost — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 16:12:55 +0000

The University of Illinois has just announced receipt of a $12 million endowment gift from the estate of 1944 alumnae Arlys Streitmatter Conrad. The gift will be shared equally by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). Mrs. Conrad had worked at S&C Electric Company in Chicago for 38 years in a number of corporate positions, including 23 years as corporate secretary, as well as managed her family’s centennial farm in Speer, Illinois, prior to her death in the fall of 2007. According to the university, “Mrs. Conrad’s $12 million estate gift, which will be included in the University’s $2.25 billion Brilliant Futures fund-raising campaign, brought her total giving to the University of Illinois to more than $13.1 million and fits her lifelong commitment to the study and teaching of English as well as agriculture.”

$3 Million to Oklahoma Schools from The Cherokee Nation

jayfrost — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:49:31 +0000

Over 100 public schools in northeastern Oklahoma will receive more than $3 million from The Cherokee Nation in 2009. The donation will come from revenue generated by tribal car tag sales. As principal Chief Chad Smith said at a news conference announcing the gift, “Innovative educational programs continue to be a priority as we plan for our future. This $3 million will help not only the 21,000 Cherokee students in these schools but all the other students and staff, as well.” According to coverage in Tulsa World, The Cherokee Nation has donated more than $16 million to schools in northeastern Oklahoma since 2002. Notably, the donation is unrestricted and may be spent by the schools on areas where they see a need.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/printerfriendlystory.aspx?articleid=20090323_298_0_TheChe749590

$3.5 Million to Wesleyan University from John Shapiro and Shonni Silverberg

jayfrost — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:27:35 +0000

In February, John M. Shapiro and Shonni J. Silverberg made a gift of $3.5 million to “transform the teaching of writing” at Wesleyan University and endow institution’s Creative Writing Center. The donors asked that $2.5 million of the gift be used to endow a faculty position in writing and that the remaining $1 million support renovation of the Creative Writing Center. Mr. Shapiro is co-founder and managing director of Chieftain Capital Management, an investment advisory firm based in New York City. He graduated with Honors from Wesleyan in 1974, then earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1978. Dr. Shonni J. Silverberg received her BA cum laude at Wesleyan in 1976 with a major in Biology, and earned her MD from Cornell University in 1980. She is Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, and currently serves as a member of the Wesleyan University Board of Trustees. According to the university’s website, the couple had previously provided an endowment for Wesleyan’s Jewish Studies program, underwritten scholarships and contributed to the Wesleyan Fund.

$250,000 to Jarvis Christian College from Anonymous Donor

jayfrost — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:02:33 +0000

Jarvis Christian College has received $250,000 from an anonymous member of the Northway Christian Church. The contribution, announced by Jarvis in January, will be used to endow a scholarship for a Northway student to attend the school. Jarvis and Northway have a strong relationship, according to the Longview News-Journal, with the church supporting the college as one of its mission outreach programs.

$5 Million to the UCLA Library from the Arcadia Fund

jayfrost — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:47:17 +0000

The UCLA Library has received $5 million from the Arcadia Fund to “further develop, preserve and make accessible its collections,” according to the UCLA Newsroom. This is the largest single gift for collections in the history of the library. The Arcadia Fund, a British grantmaking fund administered by Charities Aid Foundation which has made several major donations to the UCLA Library in the past, was originally established as the Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund in 2001. Its donor board consists of Lisbet Rausing, an historian and research associate of Imperial College in the UK, and Peter Baldwin, Professor of History at UCLA.

$1 Million to Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation

jayfrost — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:24:22 +0000

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation has pledged $1 million to The UCLA Foundation to fund an endowed chair in clinical pharmacology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The focus of the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Endowed Chair in Interdepartmental Clinical Pharmacology will be to catalyze the UCLA’s current program by augmenting research in the discipline while reinforcing the importance of clinical pharmacology education at the Geffen School of Medicine. The foundation, created to promote education, tolerance, social services and the arts by the Gilberts, is now directed by Richard Ziman and Martin H. Blank Jr., both longtime UCLA supporters. More information on the gift is available on the university’s web site.

$1 Million to the UCLA Anderson School of Management from Richard S. Ziman

jayfrost — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:05:26 +0000

The UCLA Anderson School of Management has announced a $1 million gift from Board of Visitors member Richard S. Ziman, chairman of American Value Partners and co-chair of the school’s $100 million fundraising campaign. One half of the contribution will fund the new Richard S. Ziman Fellowship, which will support graduate students studying real estate, and the other half will be invested in a named fund providing support for critical needs at the Richard S. Ziman Center Real Estate, an institute named for the donor in appreciation of his $5 million gift to the center in 2001. Mr. Ziman, a long-time benefactor to and volunteer for both UCLA Anderson and the entire university, was recognized by the school with its highest honor, the UCLA Medal, in 2008. More information on the gift is available through the university’s website.

$2 Million to University of Tennessee from Renee Haugerud and John H. Murphy

jayfrost — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:51:41 +0000

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has announced receipt of a $2 million gift from Renee Haugerud and John H. Murphy. According to the Times Free Press, the contribution will be split with $1.5 million to establish the Renee Haugerud and John H. Murphy Global Finance Center at the business school and the remaining $500,000 earmarked for the university’s football program. Ms. Haugerud and Mr. Murphy run hedge fun Galtere, Ltd., with Ms. Haugerud serving as managing principal and chief investment officer and Mr. Murphy in the role of chief development officer. Mr. Murphy is an alumnus of the university, was a “walk-on” for the school’s football team as a student and was a teammate of the team’s current coach, Russ Huesman, and offensive line coach, Russ Ehrenfeld.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/feb/24/financiers-give-2-million-university-tennessee-cha/

$67 Million In-Kind Contribution by Jackie Chan to University in Singapore

jayfrost — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:13:05 +0000

Hong Kong martial arts action star Jackie Chan is donating historical Chinese houses valued at over US$67 million (S$101 million) to a new Singaporean university slated to open in 2011. According to reports in AFP, Chan will give the campus seven wooden houses and a performing stage from his private collection which date to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The donation is pending approval from Chinese authorities.