Gifts Roundup: Denver Oil Man Gives $80 Million for Computer Science and Engineering

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

Western State Colorado University

Paul Rady gave $80 million to establish the Paul M. Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering. The new school is a partnership with the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Rady is chief executive and chairman of Antero Resources Corporation, an oil-explorations and natural-gas company in Denver. He graduated from the university in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Geology.

Michigan State University

Edward Minskoff donated $30 million to build the Business Pavilion, an academic and career-development center, at the Eli Broad College of Business.

Minskoff founded Edward J. Minskoff Equities, a real-estate firm that owns, develops, and manages high-end office and residential properties and other real estate in New York and elsewhere. He earned a degree in economics from the university in 1962.

Chimp Haven

Mark and Kimbra Walter gave $10 million through their Walter Family Foundation to expand the chimpanzee sanctuary so it can provide housing to more than 200 chimpanzees that are currently living in research facilities and awaiting a spot with the organization.

Mark Walter leads Guggenheim Partners, a financial-services company, and he is one of five chairmen of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team.

Georgetown University Law Center

Bruce and Ann Blume donated $10 million to establish the Blume Public Leadership Institute. Through the new institute, students with promise as future public leaders will receive full-tuition scholarships.

Bruce Blume is a former lawyer who founded a real-estate development firm in Seattle. He graduated from the law school in 1980 and serves on its Board of Visitors.

University of Michigan

Ron and Eileen Weiser donated $10 million to create the Weiser Diplomacy Center, which will bring seasoned diplomats and foreign-policy experts to campus. The new center will be housed at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

Ron Weiser served as U.S. ambassador to Slovakia from 2001 to 2004. He founded a real-estate investment company in Ann Arbor called McKinley. Eileen Weiser currently chairs the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars.

University of Notre Dame

Rick and Molly Klau gave $10 million to endow the Center for Civil and Human Rights, which is being renamed for them.

Rick Klau is chairman of the Hajoca Corporation, a wholesale distributor of plumbing, heating, and industrial supplies.

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