Former ‘Cosmopolitan’ Editor Pledges $30-Million for Media Institute

Helen Gurley Brown’s gifts will benefit her late husband’s alma maters. Helen Gurley Brown’s gifts will benefit her late husband’s alma maters.

February 19, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute

How much: $30-million pledge

Who gave it: Helen Gurley Brown, former editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine

Who got it: Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism will receive $18-million and Stanford University’s School of Engineering will receive $12-million. The two universities will collaborate on projects that pair journalism and technology to incubate ideas.

Donor’s relationship to the beneficiaries: Ms. Brown’s late husband, David, a film and stage producer whose credits include the movies “Jaws” and “The Sting,” earned a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1936 from Stanford and a master’s degree from Columbia’s journalism school in 1937. Mr. Brown was a longtime member of the journalism school’s Board of Visitors. He died in 2010.

What the gift will support: The David and Helen Gurley Brown Institute for Media Innovation at both universities. The money will pay for an endowed position for the institute’s director, a fellowship program, and a grant-making program.

Impact of the gift: “This is a wonderful vote of confidence in the idea that there’s an exciting and different future out there for journalism and the media business,” says Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Columbia journalism school.

For details about other new gifts, including $30-million to DePaul University, go to http://philanthropy.com/topdonors. Send gift news to gifts@philanthropy.com.