A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
NYU Long Island School of Medicine
Elaine and Kenneth Langone gave $200 million to expand the medical school’s efforts to guarantee full-tuition scholarships to every student, regardless of need, in perpetuity. The Langones have asked that the school be renamed the NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine to recognize Robert I. Grossman, MD, who is CEO of NYU Langone Health and dean of the medical school.
“By providing our future doctors with an affordable education, we are investing in a brighter and healthier future for all, particularly here on Long Island, where Elaine and I grew up,” said Kenneth Langone, a co-founder of Home Depot who currently serves as chairman of the NYU Langone Board of Trustees.
The Langones have given hundreds of millions to nonprofits over the years, including a $100 million donation to NYU School of Medicine, in New York, in 2018. That gift also backed full-tuition scholarships for medical students. The affiliated Long Island, N.Y., medical school opened in 2019.
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Howard and Susan Elias gave nearly $16.3 million to accelerate research into brain tumors, brain-cancer neuroscience, and ways in which the nervous system interacts with cancer.
The Eliases have a personal connection to the center and with brain cancers. Their son, Harrison, was treated for brain cancer at the center when he was a child, and Howard Elias’s father died of glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor.
Howard Elias is president of services and digital at Dell Technologies, in Round Rock, Tex. He previously served in executive roles at other technology giants including Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, Digital, AST Research, and the Tandy Corporation.
Tulane University
Libby and Robert Alexander gave $12.5 million to back a universitywide data science program that aims to expand teaching and research efforts across all academic fields. Tulane’s Data Hub will be renamed the Connolly Alexander Institute for Data Science. Connolly is the family name of Libby Alexander, a 1984 Tulane graduate and member of the Board of Tulane.
The couple helped grow Connolly Inc., now Cotiviti, a health care analytics company. Libby Alexander served as CEO of Connolly and led its rebranding as Cotiviti, where she served as vice chair of the board until 2018. Robert Alexander ran his own computer company before joining Connolly Inc., as its chief information officer.
Case Western Reserve University
Larry Enterline and Kathy Richards pledged $2.5 million to support the construction of the university’s new Science and Engineering building. Enterline earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the university in 1974.
He serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of Compass Diversified, a publicly traded holding company in Westport, Conn. He previously served as CEO of Fox Factory Holding Corporation, a manufacturer of high-performance racing shock absorbers used in off-road racing, and of Vulcan Holdings, a private investment holding and consulting-services company.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.
