$200-Million Gift Will Benefit University of Southern California

How much: $200-million

Who gave it: Dana and David Dornsife. Mr. Dornsife is chairman of the Herrick Corporation, a steel-fabrication company in Stockton, Calif.

Who got it: The University of Southern California, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. It is USC’s largest single gift ever.

What it is for: The donation is an unrestricted gift, but the Los Angeles university’s president, C.L. MaxC. L. Max Nikias, says the gift will be used for student scholarships and to recruit new faculty members. In addition, a new Dornsife Scholars Program will reward students who plan to seek to focus on social challenges after graduation.

Donors’ connection to the organization: Mr. Dornsife graduated from USC in 1965, and his his parents also attended the institution. He has been a trustee of the university since 2002.

How the gift came about: When the Dornsifes attended Mr. NikiasNikia’s inauguration in October and the names of colleges at USC were read aloud, the donors noticed that the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences was the only one not named forafter an individual. Later that evening, the Dornsifes approached Mr. Nikias and Howard Gillman, the college’s dean, about their desire to make a gift big enough to warrant naming the college for it after them.

Why the donors gave: “Standing up when we’re in a recessionary period and doing something like we tried to do, we think is very, very important to reinforce the rise of USC in the academic world,” says Mr. Dornsife.”