Roy and Diana Vagelos Give $50 Million for Science Center at University of Pennsylvania (Gifts Roundup)

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

University of Pennsylvania

Roy and Diana Vagelos gave $50 million to Penn Arts & Sciences for a new science center to house the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, and the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, an undergraduate dual-degree program run jointly by Arts & Sciences and Engineering.

Roy Vagelos is a retired physician and a retired chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Company. He currently serves as chairman at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the university in 1950 and was chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees from 1995 to 1999.

The Shed at Hudson Yards

Kenneth Griffin gave $25 million to support a theater, which has been named for him, on the campus of the new performing and visual arts center in New York.

Griffin founded the Citadel Investment Group, a hedge fund in Chicago, and is a longtime donor to arts and education institutions.

He appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors in 2014, the year he donated $150 million to Harvard, his alma mater.

Tufts School of Medicine

Ghahreman Khodadad donated land valued at $10.8 million to launch the Ghahreman Khodadad Center for the Study of Excessive Pathological Selfishness. The new research center intends to examine the neurological foundations and drivers of extreme self-centeredness. The center will be part of the School of Medicine’s Department of Neuroscience.

Khodadad, who grew up in Iran and emigrated to the United States, is a retired neurosurgeon in Kentucky. He is best known in medical circles for developing a type of surgery that improves blood flow to the brain.

The gift is in the form of two parcels of farmland, one in Kentucky and the other in Ohio, that he has owned for more than 30 years. The university plans to sell the land and direct the proceeds to immediate research; the remainder will endow a professorship and a research fund.

Maine Maritime Academy

William Bullard left $10 million for scholarships and to back the college’s $20 million campaign to raise money for financial aid.

Bullard, a U.S. Navy veteran who died in 2017, earned a bachelor’s degree in nautical science and a third-mate license from the academy in 1959. He worked as a master mariner for 10 years before becoming a ship’s pilot, working in ports in Alaska, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Panama, and St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

92Y Harkness Dance Center

John Arnold and Jody Gottfried Arnhold pledged $5 million to expand the center and support its educational and professional development programs.

Jody Gottfried Arnhold taught dance in New York public schools for more than 20 years and created the Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program at Hunter College. John Arnhold co-founded Arnold LLC, a New York investment firm.

University of California at Los Angeles

Stacey Nicholas gave $5 million to the Samueli School of Engineering to endow the Women in Engineering at UCLA program, which offers mentoring, leadership training, research opportunities, and industry outreach efforts to students who plan to pursue careers in engineering.

Nicholas earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from UCLA in 1985 and 1987, respectively, and worked as an electrical engineer early in her career. She was formerly married to Henry Nicholas, a billionaire who co-founded the Broadcom Corporation with Henry Samueli, the engineering school’s namesake.

University of Oregon

Andrew and Phyllis Berwick pledged $5 million to establish and endow the position of dean of the School of Music and Dance.

Andy Berwick founded Berwick-Pacific Corporation, a real-estate development business in San Mateo, Calif. He earned a business degree from the university in 1955. Phyllis Berwick earned a degree in childhood education from the university in 1956.

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