Gifts Roundup: $50 Million From Alumnus Boosts Saint Joseph’s U.

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

Saint Joseph’s University

James and Frances Maguire gave $50 million to the Philadelphia institution’s endowment to support need-based scholarships. The donors are also directing some of the money to the university’s risk-management and insurance program.

Mr. Maguire, an insurance executive, graduated from the university in 1958.

Fordham University

A $10.5 million estate gift from the late Stephen Bepler and his widow, Kim, will create four endowed math and science professorships and fund construction of a new science building on the Bronx campus.

Mr. Bepler, an alumnus and former trustee, was an investment banker. The Beplers have given Fordham a total of $31 million.

Stanford Cancer Institute

Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jeffrey Rothschild and his wife, Marieke, gave $10 million to advance research in cancer-cell therapy.

The gift establishes the Stanford Center for Cancer Cell Therapy, which will support research and clinical trials of treatments that use the power of a patient’s own immune system to attack and kill tumor cells.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

Teresa and Byron Pollitt gave $3 million to create an endowed-chair position for the director of the hospital’s Fetal and Neonatal Institute. The new pledge completes a $5 million endowment for the chair.

Mr. Pollitt is a former Visa executive and Ms. Pollitt is a past president of Children’s Chain, which raises money for the hospital.

Fort Hays State University

Don and Chris Bickle gave $1 million to support academic programs, scholarships, athletics, and student life at the campus in western Kansas.

Mr. Bickle is the president of Warehouse Inc., a supplier of automotive parts, and a former trustee of the university’s foundation.

Northern Arizona University

George Roberts, a co-founder and co-CEO of investment firm KKR, gave $1 million to support scholarships to the university’s College of Education.

Mr. Roberts made the gift in honor of his friendship with William Franke, a businessman who donated $25 million to Northern Arizona’s College of Business in 2007.

To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.