Gifts Roundup: Paul Allen Endows Computer Studies at U. of Washington; Rap Star’s Pledge Boosts Chicago Schools

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

University of Washington

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen donated $40 million to endow the computer-science department, which was elevated to the level of a school and christened the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering.

Mr. Allen is a longtime donor to scientific causes and to the university, which he credits as a key influence on his tech career. “It was access to UW computers as a high-school student that served as a springboard for the eventual launch of Microsoft,” he said in a news release.

Microsoft is contributing an additional $10 million toward the endowment.

Mayo Clinic

Supermarket heir Dan Davis and his wife, Brenda, gave $25 million to expand the medical center’s Jacksonville, Fla., campus. The money will help pay for construction of a new building and hiring additional physicians and researchers.

Mr. Davis is a retired chairman of Winn-Dixie Stores, a grocery chain his family co-founded. The Davises donated 400 acres of land and led a fundraising campaign to establish the clinic’s Jacksonville outpost, which opened in 1986.

University of Chicago

Joseph Neubauer, and his wife, Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer, donated $25 million through their family foundation to endow Ph.D. programs in the humanities and the physical and social sciences.

The money will provide student stipends and back programs to enhance students’ professional skills.

Mr. Neubauer is a retired chairman of the Aramark Corporation, which provides food and uniform services to large institutions and public facilities. He earned an MBA from the university in 1965 and currently chairs its Board of Trustees. Ms. Lerman-Neubauer founded the marketing and communications firm J.P. Lerman & Company and is a former vice president for communications at Time Warner.

New York Public Library

James and Merryl Tisch are giving the library system $20 million for educational programming, including literacy and technology training.

Mr. Tisch is chief executive of Loews Corporation, which holds majority stakes in Loews Hotels and other companies. Ms. Tisch is the former chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents.

Dartmouth College

Former New Jersey congressman Frank Guarini pledged $10 million for study-abroad programs at the college’s Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education, which he endowed with a $10 million gift in 2013.

Mr. Guarini graduated from Dartmouth in 1946. He served two terms in the New Jersey State Senate and seven in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his congressional tenure, he helped develop trade policy with China and was a delegate to the 1990 North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in London. He was later appointed by President Clinton to serve as U.S. representative to the U.N. General Assembly.

The new gift will support flexible, shorter international programs designed for students with heavy time commitments, such as athletes and pre-med students. It will also be used to create new programs in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central America.

Canisius College and D’Youville College

Ruth Schwendler left a total of approximately $2 million to the institutions in the Buffalo, N.Y., area.

Ms. Schwendler, who died last May at age 92, bequeathed more than $1 million to Canisius to endow the Ruth J. Schwendler Scholarship. She left another donation of close to $1 million for scholarships to D’Youville.

The donor worked as a secretary and bookkeeper and invested in savings bonds. Her only connection to either college was through a cousin, the late Francis Walter, who taught history at Canisius.

Chicago Public Schools

Hip-hop artist Chancelor Bennett, better known as Chance the Rapper, promised $1 million to Chicago Public Schools to offset the school system’s budget deficit.

Mr. Bennett, a Chicago native, is also helping to raise money for the system through SocialWorks, a youth nonprofit he co-founded last year.

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