Gifts Roundup: Megagift Boosts Cal Poly Research; Obamas Back Chicago Jobs Programs

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

California Polytechnic State University

William and Linda Frost gave $110 million to the College of Science and Mathematics for a new research center.

The gift will also provide $3.6 million annually for student scholarships and research stipends; new equipment and instrumentation; and additional hiring of instructors, giving faculty members more time to mentor undergraduate students in research.

Mr. Frost, who graduated from Cal Poly in 1972 with a degree in biochemistry, founded Chemlogics, which produces chemicals used in oil and gas production. He sold the firm to Solvay, a Belgian chemical company, in 2013 for $1.3 billion. Ms. Frost earned a biology degree at San Jose State University, like Cal Poly a part of the California State system. Last year they gave Cal Poly $20 million for research programs.

Lenfest Institute for Journalism

Philadelphia businessman H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest pledged to match up to $40 million in giving by other donors to the journalism nonprofit, which he established last year with a $20 million endowment gift and the donation of his media holding company, which owned the city’s Inquirer and Daily News newspapers.

While continuing to operate the dailies, the institute has backed new investigative-reporting programs, helped national news organizations develop digital products, and partnered with the Knight Foundation and Temple University on a program to upgrade newsrooms around the country.

Mr. Lenfest and his wife, Marguerite, have been giving big since 1999, when they sold cable company Lenfest Communications to AT&T. They have appeared on The Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the country’s top donors eight times over the last 16 years.

University of Pennsylvania

Jon and Mindy Gray donated $21 million to the Basser Center for BRCA at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center. The money will go toward research aimed at improving treatment and prevention strategies for hereditary cancers.

Mr. Gray leads investment firm Blackstone’s global real-estate division and is chairman of the board of Hilton Hotels. The Grays graduated from the university in 1992, and Ms. Gray chairs the board of the Basser Leadership Council. The couple established the Basser Center with a $25 million gift in 2012.

Robin Hood

Financier Ken Griffin committed $15 million to match donations up to that amount from elsewhere and back the nonprofit’s efforts to help New York City’s neediest families.

Mr. Griffin founded the hedge fund Citadel and has given to Robin Hood annually since 1994. He appeared on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50 list for 2014, when he gave $150 million to Harvard University.

Indiana State University

Todd Osburn and his wife, Caroline Howe, pledged $7.5 million to help financially strapped students.

Two-thirds of the gift will support students at the university’s Scott College of Business. The other $2.5 million will be used to establish the Caroline C. Howe and Todd A. Osburn Career Professional Readiness Fund.

Mr. Osburn co-founded Greyrock Capital Group. He earned a degree in accounting from Indiana State in 1985.

Florida Atlantic University

Phyllis and Harvey Sandler gave $7 million for the School of Social Work, which will be named for the couple.

The gift will also create two new centers within the Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, including the Robin Rubin Mindfulness and Wellness Center and the Substance Misuse, Mental Health and Research Center.

In addition, some of the money will back renovations to Florida Atlantic’s College for Design and Social Inquiry.

Mr. Sandler founded Sandler Capital Management, a private-equity firm.

University of Michigan Depression Center

Waltraud (Wally) Prechter committed $5 million through her family foundation to match other giving for a research program on bipolar disorder.

The program will be renamed for Ms. Prechter’s late husband, Heinz Prechter. Mr. Prechter, an automotive entrepreneur who helped popularize sunroofs in American cars, struggled with bipolar disorder and took his own life in 2001. Ms. Prechter has donated and helped the depression center raise money from others since her husband’s death.

One Summer Chicago and Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance

Barack and Michelle Obama pledged $2 million, to be split between the two organizations, to back a summer-jobs program and apprenticeships for Chicago youth.

The former president and first lady announced the gift at a community meeting where they unveiled the design for the Obama Presidential Center, to be built in the Jackson Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. The center will house Mr. Obama’s presidential library, a museum, and community amenities like an auditorium and public park, and will seek to train and employ local youth.

One Summer Chicago is a City Hall-run program that supports seasonal job placements and internships for city residents aged 14 to 24. The Workforce Funder Alliance is a network of foundations and corporate donors focused on employment equity.

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

Correction: An earlier version of this article referred to Robin Hood and Citadel by their former names, the Robin Hood Foundation and Citadel Investment Group.