Cornell and Iowa State Receive $20-Million-Plus Donations

Cornell University announced a $25-million gift Thursday to buoy research on pediatric health and clinical-care programs for children with cancer, asthma, autism, and other conditions, campus newspaper The Cornell Daily Sun and New York Business Journal write.

The gift from hotelier Ira Drukier and his wife, Gale Drukier, will establish an institute within Weill Cornell Medical College focused on childhood disease. Mr. Drukier, a Cornell graduate, co-owns New York lodging chain BD Hotels. The contribution will also fund an annual lectureship on pediatric health and a faculty prize for for work in the field.

An anonymous alumni couple has donated $22-million to Iowa State University, part of which is expected to support construction of a planned Student Innovation Center to encourage interdisciplinary learning, reports the Ames Tribune. The gift will also endow the deanship of university’s College of Human Sciences.