Gifts Roundup: Donor Gives $700 Million to 3 Institutions; Nursing School Lands $25 Million

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

Columbia University and NewYork-Presbyterian

Florence Irving gave $600 million to back Columbia University’s Herbert and Florence Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Ms. Irving is the widow of Herbert Irving, a co-founder and former vice chairman of Sysco Corporation, a major food distributor. He died in 2016 at age 98. This newest gift brings the Irvings’ total giving to the two institutions to more than $900 million over the past 30 years.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Ms. Irving also donated more than $80 million to establish an endowment for art acquisitions and a number of endowments in the Department of Asian Art.

Ms. Irving and her late husband, Herbert, have been donors to the museum since 1987, and in 2015 they contributed a collection of more than 1,200 works of Asian art.

University of California at San Diego

Franklin Antonio pledged $30 million for a new building for engineering research and education. The building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2021 and will be named for the donor.

Mr. Antonio co-founded Qualcomm, a wireless-communications company, where he currently serves as chief scientist. He graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics and Information Science in 1974.

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Robert and Jane Cizik gave $25 million for the nursing school, which will be renamed the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing.

The money will go toward scholarships, endow faculty posts, and establish a new lecture series.

Mr. Cizik is a retired president of Cooper Industries, a manufacturer of engines, turbines and compressors for the oil and natural-gas industries. He served as chairman of the fundraising campaign to build a new home for the nursing school.

University of South Florida

Les and Pam Muma donated $15 million for athletics, business, and health programs.

Of the total, the Mumas are directing $8 million to USF Athletics, $5 million to the Muma College of Business, and $2 million to establish a Women’s Health Center at the Tampa General Hospital campus.

Mr. Muma is a retired co-founder of Fiserv, a financial-services technology company. The couple has given the university a total of over $56 million.

Marian University

Fred and Judy Klipsch gave $12 million for the education college, which will be renamed the Fred S. Klipsch Educators College.

The gift will primarily establish the Judy L. Klipsch Angel Educators Scholarship to support disadvantaged students who want to become educators. Some of the money will also back professorships.

Mr. Klipsch founded Klipsch Audio Technologies, which he sold to Audiovox Corporation in 2011. He currently serves on the university’s Board of Trustees.

Washington University in St. Louis

Andrew and Barbara Taylor pledged $10 million to create the Taylor Family Scholarship Challenge, a fundraising effort to match all new and increased gifts for undergraduate scholarships from other donors received by June 3.

Mr. Taylor is executive chairman of his family’s corporation, Enterprise Holdings, the parent company of several car-rental businesses.

Sacramento State University

Dale and Katy Carlsen donated $6 million for the new Dale and Katy Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sacramento State.

Mr. Carlsen earned a degree in business administration from the university in 1984 and later founded Sleep Train Mattress Centers, which he sold in March.

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