Gifts Roundup: Real-Estate Mogul Gives $50 Million for to U. of Michigan

A roundup of notable gifts compiled by The Chronicle:

University of California at Irvine

Broadcom founder Henry Samueli and his wife, Susan, gave $200 million to build and endow a new health-sciences college at the University of California at Irvine, the institution announced today.The Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences will focus on integrative health, a type of health care that centers on treating the whole person using several types of therapeutic, preventive, and other care.The donors are not UCI alumni, but they have given the university a number of large donations over the past two decades, and Mr. Samueli has served as an adjunct professor in the department of electrical engineering and computer science.

University of Michigan

Real-estate developer Stephen Ross donated $50 million to back career-development programs for students, student-run investment-fund projects, new business ventures, and efforts to attract and develop junior faculty.Mr. Ross, a billionaire who also owns the Miami Dolphins, is a longtime donor to the university. Including this newest gift, he has given a total of $378 million to the institution since he graduated in 1962.He was in the news in July when he was accused of dodging taxes with one of his earlier University of Michigan gifts.

The University of Arizona

Financier Edward Bass gave $30 million to endow Biosphere 2, a closed ecological system where researchers study environmental change, natural-resources management, and policies to protect ecosystems. Mr. Base, an heir to an oil fortune, co-founded Biosphere 2 as an experimental scientific entity in 1984 with an initial gift of $30 million. It was originally operated by the now-defunct Space Biospheres Ventures, then by Columbia University from 1995 through 2003. The University of Arizona began managing the facility in 2007 and acquired it in 2011.

Tulane University

Bertie Deming Smith donated $25 million for research programs in the department of medicine, which will be named for Ms. Smith’s late husband, Dr. John Winton Deming.Mr. Deming, an internal medicine physician, graduated from Tulane’s medical school and also served as an associate professor of clinical medicine there. He died in 1996 at age 76.

University of Missouri

David and Wendy Novak pledged $21.6 million to create the Novak Leadership Institute within the School of Journalism.Mr. Novak is an advertising and marketing executive who co-founded Yum! Brands, a fast-food restaurant corporation that he led until retiring in 2016.The couple met as undergraduates in the journalism school. They graduated in 1974.

Indiana University

Jay Wilkinson committed $10 million to help pay for Wilkinson Hall, a new indoor arena that will house the university’s volleyball and wrestling competitions.Mr. Wilkinson leads Peoplelink Group, a staffing and consulting business. He earned a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from the university in 1985.

Detroit Institute of Arts

Bonnie Ann Larson gave $5 million to endow the museum’s operations.A board member since 2004, Ms. Larson has been involved with the museum since the 1980s. She has served there as a docent leading museum tours.Ms. Larson is the widow of Robert Larson, a commercial real-estate executive who died in 2010.To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated throughout the week.