Gifts Roundup: Anonymous Donors Give Big to MIT, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, and Vanderbilt U.

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

An anonymous donor gave an unrestricted $140 million donation, which the university can use for any purpose.

The donor is an alumnus who received financial aid to attend the university and suggested in a news release that some of the money would likely go toward student aid.

Medical College of Wisconsin

Robert and Patricia Kern gave $37.8 million through their family foundation to create the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education.

The Kerns founded Generac Power Systems, a maker of portable generators, in 1959. They sold the company to CCMP Capital Advisors in 2006 for more than $1 billion.

They have given large sums to medical efforts and appeared in The Chronicle’s 2013 Philanthropy 50 list of the country’s most generous donors for a $67.3 million gift to the Mayo Clinic.

Massachusetts Eye and Ear

The Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital devoted to eye, ear, nose, throat, head, and neck care received more than $20 million from an anonymous donor to back research programs at its Eaton-Peabody Laboratories. Along with research into hearing and balance, the gift will endow new professorships and enable the center to hire more researchers.

Sutter Health

Michael and Judith Gaulke donated $20 million to establish the Michael and Judith Gaulke Innovation Hatchery Endowment Fund.

The health system’s Innovation Hatchery is an incubator where researchers test promising health-care ideas in hospitals and clinics. It focuses on solutions in five main areas: primary care, mothers and babies, mental health, compassionate hospitalization, and end-of-life care.

Mr. Gaulke is chairman of Exponent, an engineering and scientific consulting firm, where he previously served as chief executive and in other roles. Vanderbilt University

An anonymous donor gave $10 million for several new residential colleges. The university did not release any information about the donor.

Pennsylvania State University

Ira Lubert pledged $5 million, including $3 million to endow scholarships. Of the remainder, $1.75 million will back renovations to an athletics building, and the rest will go toward other projects.

Mr. Lubert co-founded private-equity firm Independence Capital Partners and Lubert-Adler Partners, a real-estate-investment company. He graduated from Penn State in 1973 and is chairman of its Board of Trustees.

Mills College

Nancy Cook left $3 million to endow a professorship, scholarships, and a travel fund in the photography program.

Ms. Cook, who died this year, graduated from Mills in 1968.

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