Indiana U. Receives $50-Million for Its Cancer Center; Other Recent Gifts

Six institutions have received big gifts:

• The Indiana University Cancer Center, in Indianapolis, has received $50-million from Melvin Simon, a co-founder and co-chairman of Simon Property Group, a real-estate investment company in Indianapolis, and his wife, Bren, to support cancer research and patient care. Half of the gift will create an endowment to attract researchers to the Indiana University School of Medicine and to support laboratory-research programs at the cancer center. The other half will support expansion of the center’s patient-care facility.

• The Pittsburgh Symphony has received a pledge of $29.5-million from the family of Richard P. Simmons, a retired chairman of Allegheny Technologies, in Pittsburgh, to support its endowment campaign. The endowment will receive $17-million when the symphony balances its budget for three consecutive years. Of the remainder, $7.5-million is unrestricted, and $5-million will match donations from board members, corporations, donors, and foundations.

• Pennsylvania State University at University Park has received a gift of $25-million from William Schreyer, a former chairman of Merrill Lynch & Company, in New York, and his wife, Joan, to support civic-engagement and ethics programs, scholarships, and study-abroad programs at the Schreyer Honors College. Mr. Schreyer graduated from the university in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce and finance, and has served on its board since 1986. The couple has previously given more than $33-million to the university.

• Princeton University, in New Jersey, has received a pledge of $10.5-million from William C. Powers, a managing director of the Pacific Investment Management Company, in Newport Beach, Calif. The bulk of the gift, $10-million, will be used to renovate and build new facilities for the football team, create an endowment to maintain the athletic fields, and support the football team. The remaining $500,000 will establish two scholarships for needy students. Mr. Powers, who graduated from Princeton in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, played on the university’s football team.

• H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, founder of Lenfest Communications, in Wilmington, Del., has given $10-million to Mercersburg Academy, in Pennsylvania, to help build a new arts center. Mr. Lenfest, who graduated from the school in 1949, has given a total of more than $70-million to the academy.

• The University of California at Los Angeles has received a pledge of $10-million from Lloyd Cotsen, president of Cotsen Management, a private-investment firm in Los Angeles, to support the university’s Archaeology Institute. The gift will support research and publications, help recruit faculty and graduate students, and establish an international prize to honor a team of archaeologists and students.

Other recent gifts:

American Bird Conservancy (Washington): $1-million challenge gift from Robert Wilson, a retired investor in New York, to purchase land for conservation and unrestricted support.

Cape Cod Hospital (Hyannis, Mass.): $5-million challenge gift from David G. Mugar, chairman of Mugar Enterprises, an investment firm in Boston, to finish building new patient facilities.

Chapman U. (Orange, Calif.): $1-million from John Crean, founder and retired chairman of Fleetwood Enterprises, a recreational-vehicle and mobile-home manufacturer in Riverside, Calif., and his wife, Donna, to establish a film and media archive that will house scripts and prints of films and television shows.

College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.): $5.3-million from Park B. Smith, founder and chairman of Park B. Smith Incorporated, a fabric and textile company in New York, to build and restore its athletic facilities. The gift comprises the proceeds of an auction at which Mr. Smith sold 50 cases of wine from his collection.

College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, Va.): $9.6-million estate gift from an anonymous donor to support visual arts at the college.

Crossroads Community Foundation (Natick, Mass.): $1.4-million from an anonymous donor, to support its Youth in Philanthropy program, which teaches young people about philanthropy and allows them to make grants.

D.C. Central Kitchen (Washington): $1-million from Bob Torray, founder and chairman of Robert E. Torray & Company, an investment-management firm in Bethesda, Md., and his wife, Nancy, for general operating support and to strengthen the organization.

Drake U. (Des Moines): $1.5-million from John R. Ellis, a retired plant manager at Abbott Laboratories, headquartered in Abbott Park, Ill., and his wife, Audrey, to endow a professorship in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Mr. Ellis graduated from the university in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy.

Drury U. (Springfield, Mo.): $1.5-million from John Beuerlein, a principal of Edward Jones, a financial-services firm in St. Louis, and his wife, Crystal, to establish the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Both Mr. and Mrs. Drury graduated from the university in 1975 with bachelor’s degrees in business administration.

Florida Gulf Coast U. (Fort Myers): $2.5-million from Alan Korest, a retired chief executive officer of an industrial-equipment company in Michigan, and his wife, Marilyn, to establish the Bower School of Music.

Maui Community College (Honolulu): $1-million pledge from Dorvin D. Leis, founder and chairman of Dorvin D. Leis Company, a mechanical contractor in Kahului, Hawaii, and his wife, Betty, to endow sustainability efforts at the college.

Medcenter One (Bismarck, N.D.): $1.5-million bequest from Elsie Hoffman Burkhart, a retired nurse at the San Diego Veteran’s Administration Hospital, to support rural health-care programs, cancer and cardiac research, and scholarships at the Medcenter One College of Nursing.

Naples Botanical Garden (Fla.): $5-million from Scott Kapnick, a former co-head of the Global Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs, in New York, and his wife, Kathleen, to expand visitor amenities and habitat preservation on its 160 acres.

Pepperdine U. (Malibu, Calif.): $3-million from the singer Pat Boone and his wife, Shirley, to endow the university’s Center for the Family.

Texas Woman’s U. (Denton): $5-million from T. Boone Pickens, founder of BP Capital Management, an energy-investment firm in Dallas, to help build its new Institute of Health Sciences Center, in Dallas.

U. of Connecticut at Storrs: $1-million from Morris N. Trachten, a retired chairman of Viking Aluminum Products, in New Britain, Conn., and his wife, Shirley, to expand the university’s Hillel House and its programs for Jewish students. Mr. Trachten graduated from the university in 1948 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration.

U. of Missouri at Columbia, School of Medicine: $2-million from Mark Edward Thoman, a retired pediatrician in Des Moines, and his wife, Theresa, to endow a professorship in pediatrics. Mr. Thoman received both his bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1958 and his medical degree in 1962 from the university.

U. of Tennessee (Knoxville): $1.3-million estate gift from Vera and David Mefford, co-owners of Axces, a business-consulting firm in Morristown, Tenn., to endow faculty and student research fellowships and a professorship in value theory. Mr. Mefford graduated from the university in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree and in 1989 with a doctorate, both in philosophy.

U. of Texas at Austin: $1-million from John Barnhill, a retired executive vice president at Blue Bell Creameries, in Brenham, Tex., and his wife, Jane, to support communications between the alumni association and its members. Mr. Barnhill graduated from the university in 1959 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Virginia Commonwealth U. (Richmond): $1-million from C. Kenneth and Dianne Wright to establish an endowment to provide undergraduate students with merit-based scholarships. Mr. Wright is a retired chairman of Rent-a-Car Company, in Richmond, and Ms. Wright is founder and president of Ambassador Travel and Tours, in Richmond.