Ubbens Pledge $50 Million for Financial Aid; Benioffs Give $35 Million for Prostate Cancer Research (Gifts Roundup)

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Jeff and Laurie Ubben pledged $50 million to back scholarships for undergraduate, graduate, and professional-school students.

Jeff Ubben founded ValueAct Capital, a private money-management firm in San Francisco. He earned an MBA from the university in 1987 and serves on the Northwestern Board of Trustees’ finance and student-life committees. Laurie Ubben co-founded the Bird School of Music in San Francisco and was executive producer of the film Loving Vincent.

The Ubben family are longtime donors to the university and other nonprofits. In 2014, Jeff Ubben and his father, Timothy, gave $50 million to the Posse Foundation, a college-access program that helps minority students. Timothy Ubben co-founded the nonprofit’s Chicago chapter.

University of California at San Francisco

San Francisco billionaires Marc and Lynne Benioff gave $35 million to establish the UCSF Benioff Initiative for Prostate Cancer Research. The money will help pay for new research faculty and projects, as well as teams of research fellows that will be mentored by UCSF faculty members.

Marc Benioff founded Salesforce, a cloud-computing company. His net worth stands at about $6.4 billion, according to Forbes. Since 2005, the Benioffs have given UCSF more than $400 million for medical and homelessness programs, including $100 million in 2010 for UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital and another $100 million for the hospital in 2014.

They have also given extensively to other nonprofits and have appeared six times on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors.

St. John’s University

William and Lesley Collins committed $10 million to support scholarships for students through the university’s Partners for Student Success program, and to establish a professorship. The university will rename its College of Professional Studies for the donors.

William Collins founded Brencourt Advisors, a small hedge fund he started in 2001 and shut down in 2012. He previously managed the arbitrage department of ING Investment Management Alternative Assets and earlier in his career worked as a trader in the risk arbitrage department at Lehman Brothers.

He graduated from St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 1976, and Lesley Collins graduated from the university’s St. Vincent’s College in 1983.

Peconic Bay Medical Center

Emilie and Michael Corey gave $10 million to improve and upgrade the medical center’s critical care, primary care, and surgical services.

Emilie Roy Corey is chairman of the Peconic Bay Medical Center Foundation’s Board of Directors. Michael Corey is a retired executive at J.P. Morgan Chase, a financial firm in New York.

Saint Peter’s University

Frank Guarini donated $10 million to expand the School of Business, which will be named for him; bolster business programs; and establish new projects within the business school.

Guarini is a real-estate developer who served two terms in the New Jersey State Senate and seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was later appointed as the U.S. representative to the U.N. General Assembly.

He did not attend the university but grew up across the street from the Saint Peter’s campus and has been involved with the university for decades, including as a donor and Board of Regents member.

Hoag Hospital

Dean and Gerda Koontz pledged $9 million to pay for a ViewRay MRIdian, an MRI-guided radiation-therapy system that allows for streaming real-time imaging of the radiation target and surrounding areas while a patient is being treated, which has not been available to doctors previously.

Dean Koontz is a best-selling author who writes science fiction, horror, and suspense books, some of which have been turned into films or television shows. Hoag’s radiation and oncology center will be named for Koontz, who has been a patient at the hospital, and his wife.

The New School

Joseph and Gail Gromek donated $8.5 million to create the Joseph and Gail Gromek Institute for Fashion Business at Parsons School of Design, a new academic center aimed at developing the next generation of leaders in the multibillion-dollar global fashion industry.

Joseph Gromek retired as president and CEO of the Warnaco Group, an apparel corporation that was sold to the PVH Corporation in 2012. He led the men’s luxury clothing company Brooks Brothers from 1996 until 2002. He is now a retail and apparel consultant and serves as chairman of the New School’s Board of Trustees.

Gail Pisano Gromek formerly worked as a senior vice president for Saks Fifth Avenue, a high-end department store with headquarters in New York.

New York University Stern School of Business

Elizabeth Elting donated $5 million through her eponymous foundation to establish the Elizabeth Elting Women’s Leadership Fellowship, which will support 40 female MBA students; and to back an additional 20 women-led businesses through the Elizabeth Elting Venture Fund.

Elting, who earned an MBA at Stern in 1992, co-founded TransPerfect Translations while still a student. The company provides language services to businesses in the legal and health care fields.

To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.

Maria Di Mento directs the annual Philanthropy 50 , a comprehensive report on America’s top donors. She writes about wealthy philanthropists, arts organizations, key trends, and insights related to ultra-high-net-worth donors, among other topics.