$25-Million Pledged to Alfred University in New York; Other New Gifts

Six institutions have received big gifts:

• Marlin Miller Jr. and his wife, Regina, have pledged $25-million to Alfred University, in New York, for its endowment. The money is earmarked for the university’s visual- and performing-arts programs, and will be used to establish up to six professorships, provide scholarships, and meet other needs. The couple also pledged $10-million last year for a new theater at the university. Mr. Miller is chairman emeritus of Arrow International, in Reading, Pa., which manufactures medical devices. He is a 1954 graduate of Alfred University and a member of its Board of Trustees.
• The family of Fred Anderson has committed $18-million to the Sutter Medical Center Foundation, in Sacramento, to build a center for women and children. The pledge is scheduled to be paid over 12 years. Mr. Anderson, who died in 1997, founded Pacific Coast Building Products, in Sacramento.
• Robert M. Arnold has pledged $15-million in unrestricted support to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle. Mr. Arnold is a retired senior vice president of Seattle-First National Bank and serves on the center’s Board of Trustees.
• Neil G. Bluhm has pledged $10-million to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, in Chicago, for its cardiovascular institute. Mr. Bluhm is president of JMB Realty Corporation, in Chicago, and serves as director of the Northwestern Memorial Foundation Board.
• Richard and Maria Sulpizio have pledged $10-million to the University of California-San Diego, in La Jolla, to construct a cardiovascular center. Mr. Sulpizio is a retired president of Qualcomm, a telecommunications company in San Diego. The couple lives in La Jolla and Santa Ynez, Calif.
• The University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, has received $10-million from an anonymous donor to endow four professorships. The professorships will be awarded to faculty members who have demonstrated significant achievement in several academic disciplines.

Other recent gifts:

Columbia College (Mo.): $3.1-million bequest from Carol Vinkemulder Frobish, of Mission Viejo, Calif., to support scholarships for female students and other needs at the college. Ms. Frobish, who died in 2003, owned a Chevron Corporation station in San Clemente, Calif. She was a 1949 graduate of the college.

Georgia State U. (Atlanta): $5-million from Parker H. Petit to construct a science facility. Mr. Petit, who received an M.B.A. from Georgia State, is chairman of Matria Healthcare, in Marietta, Ga.

Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens (San Marino, Calif.): $1-million from Steve Martin, the actor and writer, for its collection of American art.

Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore): $4-million from C. Michael and Anne Armstrong, of Darien, Conn., for stem-cell research at the School of Medicine. Mr. Armstrong is a retired chairman of Comcast, AT&T, and Hughes Electronics. The university also received $1-million from an anonymous donor to establish graduate scholarships at the Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Juniata College (Huntingdon, Pa.): $1-million from Chuck Knox to endow a professorship in history. Mr. Knox, of La Quinta, Calif., is the former coach of several professional football teams. He received a bachelor’s degree in history from Juniata in 1954 and has served on the college’s Board of Trustees.

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Boston): $4.7-million bequest from Dorothy Stentz, of Carmel, Calif., for general support, and a $2.9-million bequest from Phillippa Crowe, of Washington Depot, Conn., for the cardiology department at the society’s Angell Animal Medical Center.

New England Conservatory (Boston): $1-million from Charles and Donna Hieken for a professorship in flute music. Ms. Hieken briefly attended the school and was a principal flutist for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Her husband is a principal at the law firm of Fish & Richardson, in Boston.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (Princeton, N.J.): $3.1-million bequest from Ernest and Virginia Esberg, of Larkspur, Calif., for its endowment. The gift will be shared by the group’s headquarters in Princeton and its Northern California affiliate, in Palo Alto. Mr. Esberg, who worked for Wells Fargo, died in 1987, and his wife died in 2002.

St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wis.): $7-million from Miriam B. and James J. Mulva to construct a library. Mr. Mulva is chairman and chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, in Houston, and his wife is a graduate of St. Norbert and a member of its Board of Trustees.

U. of Chicago: $5.5-million bequest from Katharine Graham, the former publisher of The Washington Post who died in 2001. The majority of the gift — $4-million — will be used for a program to attract and support faculty members in the liberal arts; the remainder will support a residence hall and other needs. Ms. Graham was a 1938 graduate of the university and a member of its Board of Trustees.

U. of Indiana at Bloomington: $6-million from John C. and Donna Shoemaker, of Los Altos, Calif., for undergraduate scholarships at the business school. Mr. Shoemaker, who earned a master’s degree from the business school, is a retired executive vice president and general manager of Sun Microsystems, in Santa Clara, Calif.

U. of Virginia (Charlottesville): $1-million from Larry J. Sabato to support civic-education activities for youths and adults at the university’s Center for Politics, where he serves as director. Mr. Sabato is a 1974 graduate of the university and has been a professor of politics there since 1978.

Wichita State U. (Kan.): $1.1-million bequest from the estates of Edith Erker and Katherine Erker to endow a professorship. Edith, who died in 2000, worked for several law firms and for an oil- and gas-drilling company. Katherine, her sister, who died in 2002, worked as a secretary for a local construction company.