Gifts Roundup: Former Clinton Administration Official Gives $5 Million

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Stephen Schwarzman gave $350 million to establish the Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, the largest donation so far made toward MIT’s $1 billion effort to address the global rise of computing and artificial intelligence.

Schwarzman co-founded and leads the Blackstone Group, a private-equity firm in New York. The billionaire philanthropist has given more than $750 million to nonprofits in the past 10 years and has appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors three times since 2008.

Harvard University

An anonymous alumnus and his wife donated $100 million to support the Science Center, the university’s central hub for undergraduate science and mathematics programs. The donor graduated from Harvard in the 1990s.

Some of the money will back specific programs including collaborations in mathematics and applied mathematics between Harvard and universities in Israel. portion of the gift will provide unrestricted support for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Pennsylvania State University at Abington

Stephen Taub pledged $17.3 million to establish the Taub Endowment, which will go toward scholarships and pay for study-abroad and other international programs. Some of the money will also be spent on construction and technology.

Taub is a former chief executive of Mafco Worldwide Corporation, a manufacturer of natural-licorice products. He graduated from the university in 1973 and has previously given the university gifts and pledges totaling $4.5 million for financial aid and leadership programs.

Kent State University Foundation

John and Fonda Elliot gave $10 million and pledged $2 million for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, which has been named for them.

The Elliots founded American Medical Facilities Management, which operates nursing and rehabilitation centers in West Virginia. John Elliot graduated from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design in 1970 and currently serves on the foundation’s Board of Directors.

Rutgers University

Richard Weeks pledged $10 million to create the Richard N. Weeks Endowed Scholarship, which will back undergraduate scholarships at the Rutgers School of Engineering.

Weeks graduated from Rutgers in 1950 and then joined his father’s company, Weeks Marine, which loaded cargo ships in New York Harbor. He later led the company, developing it over time into a large marine construction, dredging, and tunneling firm.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

UNC System president emeritus Erskine Bowles donated $5 million to launch the Blue Sky Scholars program, a $20 million effort to provide financial aid for middle-income undergraduate students from North Carolina. The university plans to raise the rest of the money from other donors.

Bowles was president of the university system from 2005 to 2011. He previously served as the administrator of the Small Business Administration under President Clinton and later as Clinton’s chief of staff.

He graduated from the university in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and co-founded Carousel Capital, a Charlotte-based private-equity firm, in 1996.

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