Big Pledges to 2 Universities; Other Gifts

Two universities have received large pledges:

* The founder of the Robert Mondavi Winery and his wife have pledged $35-million to the University of California at Davis.

Robert Mondavi and Margrit Biever Mondavi, a vice president at the winery, designated that $25-million of their gift be used to establish the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. Construction is expected to begin in 2004 on a building that will house the institute.

The remaining $10-million of their contribution will help build a performing-arts center, expected to open in 2002.

* The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has received an unrestricted pledge of $25-million from a local businessman.

John T. Lupton, whose family owned Coca-Cola bottling plants, will pay that amount over three years.

The university plans to use the donation for a variety of purposes, including purchasing equipment, developing new academic programs, and maintaining campus facilities.

Other big gifts:

Albion College (Mich.): $4.5-million bequest from Virginia Hendley, of Manchester, Mich., who died in March, and her late husband, James, who was a lawyer and chairman of Union Savings Bank, in Manchester, for scholarships.

American Red Cross (Washington): $1-million from Rosie O’Donnell, the comedian, to the group’s disaster-relief fund to aid victims of the recent terrorist attacks.

Fashion Institute of Technology (New York): $10-million from Jay H. Baker, of Naples, Fla., the retired president of Kohl’s Department Store, and his wife, Patty. Of the total, $8-million will go toward the university’s capital campaign, and the remainder will endow a scholarship program.

Indiana U. (Indianapolis): $1-million pledge from Constance M. Baker, a professor of nursing administration and philanthropic studies at the university, to establish a chair in international health-care philanthropy.

Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore): $1-million from Richard L. Nelson, of Baltimore, and his wife, Natalie, to endow a fund for diabetes research at the medical school.

Lawrence Technological U. (Southfield, Mich.): $5-million from Edward Donley, the retired chairman of Air Products and Chemicals, in Allentown, Pa., and his wife, Inez, to establish a scholarship for women and minorities.

Northwest Missouri State U. (Maryville): $5-million pledge from Melvin Booth, of McLean, Va., president of MedImmune, in Gaithersburg, Md., and his wife, Valorie, to benefit the business school.

Performing Arts Foundation (Burbank, Calif.): $1-million from Dr. Dre, the rap musician, to support the American Red Cross’s disaster-relief efforts.

U. of California at Santa Barbara: $1-million pledge from Charles R. Schwab, the founder of Charles Schwab & Company, for an endowment to support the university’s Catholic studies program.