A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:
University of California at San Diego
Taner Halicioglu gave $75 million to establish the Halicioglu Institute for Data Science. The money will help pay for faculty, postdoctoral, and graduate-student fellowships as well as undergraduate scholarships.
Mr. Halicioglu earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the university in 1996 and went on to work for the technology companies Loudcloud and eBay. He joined Facebook in October 2004 as its first full-time hire, serving as a software and operations engineer.
He left Facebook in 2009 and today teaches at the university’s Jacobs School of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. This is his second donation to his alma mater, following a $2 million gift in 2015 to support computer-science and engineering professors and lecturers.
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford
Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife, Betty, donated $50 million to support patient care and expand research into pediatric heart disease. The institution will rename its cardiac-care unit the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center.
The money will endow the heart center and pay for additional clinical and research posts and new facilities. The Moores said in news release that they decided to make the donation after one of their grandchildren received medical care at the center.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Bezos family donated $35 million for several programs, including translational data science, research into pathogen-related cancers, and transplantation and immunotherapy programs.
The donor group includes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife MacKenzie; his parents, Mike and Jackie Bezos; and other family members.California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
Andrew and Peggy Cherng gave $30 million to endow the Andrew and Peggy Cherng Department of Medical Engineering at Caltech. The Cherngs founded the Panda Restaurant Group, which operates the Panda Express chain and other dining brands.
They did not attend Caltech, but Panda was launched in the university’s home city of Pasadena. Both have degrees in mathematics, and Ms. Cherng has an additional degree in electrical engineering. She worked for aircraft companies before joining the family restaurant business.
University of Pennsylvania
Ken Moelis and Julie Taffet Moelis donated $10 million to establish the Ken Moelis and Julie Taffet Moelis Advance Access Program at the university’s Wharton School of business. The deferred-admission program allows Penn undergraduates to apply for Wharton’s MBA program in their senior year, work for several years, then return to the university to complete their master’s.
Mr. Moelis founded Moelis & Company, a global investment bank. He earned an undergraduate degree and an MBA from Wharton in 1980 and 1981, respectively, and serves on the university’s Board of Trustees. Ms. Moelis, also a Wharton graduate, received her undergraduate degree in 1981.
University of Southern California
Filmmaker George Lucas gave $10 million through his family foundation to endow scholarships for African-American and Hispanic students in undergraduate and graduate programs at the university’s School of Cinematic Arts.
This is the Star Wars mogul’s second $10 million donation for the George Lucas Family Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity, which he established in 2016.
High Point University
Robert and Maggie Stout donated $5 million to the School of Education, which will be named for them.
Mr. Stout is the former president of Steel Bar Corporation, a Greensboro, N.C., maker of metal bars and tubing. He serves on the university’s Board of Trustees. The Stouts previously gave money to establish a scholarship for business students.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.
