3 Universities Get Big Gifts; Other Recent Donations

Three universities have received big gifts:

* The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received an unrestricted bequest of $28.6-million from the estate of David Benjamin Clayton, of Bessemer, Ala.

Mr. Clayton, a 1949 alumnus, owned several H&R Block franchises. Before he died in 1978, he bequeathed the financial-services businesses to his employees — stipulating that they be sold 20 years later with the proceeds going to the university.

U.N.C. has placed his gift into its endowment. Income from the fund will support National Merit Scholarships, undergraduate advising, and a discretionary fund for the university’s chancellor.

* Judson H. Kroeze, of Brandon, Miss., has given $15-million to the University of Mississippi and its medical center. The donation will finance programs in liberal arts and endow the Department of Microbiology.

Mr. Kroeze is the grandson of Judson Holman, a founder of the grocery chain Jitney-Jungle Stores of America.

* Washington and Lee University, in Lexington, Va., has received $11.9-million from the estates of J. Edward Lewis, a banker in Oak Hill, W.Va., and a 1929 alumnus, and his wife, Elizabeth. They directed the gift to endow scholarships.

Other recent gifts:

Boston College: $5,000,000 from an anonymous donor to establish a partnership program for faculty members and students from the Lynch School of Education and educators at Allston-Brighton public schools.

Erskine College (S.C.): $7,500,000 bequest from the estates of Charles M. Bell of Chester, S.C., director and treasurer at Chester Telephone Company, and his wife, Edna, for a professorship in biblical studies, scholarships, and endowment.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Wash.): $1,000,000 from Jim Towne of Redmond, Wash., former president of Microsoft, and his wife, Bonnie, for operating support. The couple had agreed to match, dollar for dollar, any new or increased gift of $1,000 to $50,000. The goal was reached in February.

Gardner-Webb U. (N.C.): $5,400,000 bequest from the estates of Winifred Lindsay of Rutherfordton, N.C., and her husband, David, who ran a textile mill, for endowment, scholarships, and capital needs.

Lincoln Memorial U. (Tenn.): $5,270,000 bequest from the estate of Paul Victor Hamilton of Cincinnati, a physician, for endowment.

Minnesota Foundation: $1,000,000 from Jack Browne of Wadena, Minn., co-owner of Wadena State Bank; his wife, Alvida; and their family, to establish a fund to benefit the town of Wadena.

Moore College of Art and Design (Pa.): $3,000,000 from an anonymous donor to renovate a building.

Nazareth College (N.Y.): $5,000,000 bequest from the estate of Anna M. Portka of Canandaigua, N.Y., retired director of social services at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, for expansion.

Niagara U. (N.Y.): $1,000,000 from William T. Gacioch of Derby, N.Y., president of National Property Management Associates, for unrestricted use.

Queens College (N.C.): $5,100,000 from John H. Sykes of Tampa, Fla., president of the computer-consulting company Sykes Enterprises, and his wife, Susan, to endow scholarships.

Southern Methodist U. (Tex.): $1,250,000 from Nate Levine of Dallas, chairman of Etan Industries, a cable-television and investment company, and his wife, Ann, to endow a professorship in Jewish studies.

U. of Arkansas at Fayetteville: $2,000,000 from Glenn Pound of La Jolla, Cal., former dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison, and his wife, Daisy, for scholarships.

U. of California at Irvine: Stock valued at $1,280,000 from Henry T. Nicholas III of Laguna Hills, Cal., president of Broadcom Corporation, to benefit the men’s and women’s crew teams.

U. of Scranton (Pa.): $1,000,000 from the estate of Betty Redington of Scranton, an industrial hygienist for the State of Pennsylvania, for the capital campaign.

U. of South Alabama: $8,200,000 from Abe and Mayer Mitchell of Mobile, Ala., brothers and partners in the Mitchell Company, a real-estate developer, for endowment and scholarships at the College of Business.

U. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas: $1,000,000 from George A. Roberts of Los Angeles, retired chairman of Teledyne, to help establish a clinical and research facility for liver diseases.

West Virginia U.: $1,500,000 from John Crile Allen of Coalton, W.Va., president of the paving company J. F. Allen Company, and his wife, Joyce, to support lung-cancer research at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.