Nevada University to Receive $25-Million; Other New Gifts

Three higher-education institutions have received big gifts:

• William S. Boyd has pledged $25-million to the law school at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. Mr. Boyd, a former lawyer, is chairman of the Boyd Gaming Corporation, in Las Vegas.
• Brown University, in Providence, R.I., has received $20-million from an anonymous trustee to support its new Center for Computational Molecular Biology. Approximately $16-million of the gift will endow five professorships in academic departments that will collaborate through the center, while $4-million will support research and teaching programs in computational molecular biology.
• Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif., has received $10-million from Lillian Lincoln Howell to construct two academic buildings that will house programs in several disciplines. Ms. Howell is a 1943 graduate of Pomona and owner of the Lincoln Broadcasting Company, in Brisbane, Calif.

Other recent gifts:

Austen Riggs Center (Stockbridge, Mass.): $1-million from an anonymous family to construct a community center at this psychiatric-treatment facility.

Baker U. (Baldwin, Kan.): $1-million from Susan L. Perry to endow a professorship in the history of the American West. Ms. Perry, who lives in Albuquerque, has served on the university’s Board of Trustees.

Cogswell Polytechnical College (Sunnyvale, Calif.): $2-million bequest from Roy A. Anderson to establish a professorship in engineering. Mr. Anderson, a 1952 graduate of the college, was an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He died in 2003.

Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.): $2-million from Ronald G. Harris to support innovative projects or research in emerging fields by senior faculty members. Mr. Harris, a member of the Dartmouth class of 1971, was the original engineer for Bloomberg Financial’s electronic-information network. An anonymous donor also gave $2-million to support the same Dartmouth program.

Medical College of Ohio Foundation (Toledo): $1.9-million bequest from Ruth Hillebrand to establish a program to train health professionals in providing compassionate care. Ms. Hillebrand, who died in 1994, was a clinical psychologist who practiced in New York.

New York Medical College (Valhalla): $5-million from Sidney E. Frank, chairman and founder of Sidney Frank Importing Company, in New Rochelle, N.Y., to endow a chair in psychiatry and behavioral sciences and support educational and research programs.

Pacific U. (Forest Grove, Ore.): $1-million from Milt Johnston for scholarship support for students majoring in math and science. Mr. Johnston, a 1935 graduate of the university, is the former vice president of Gray and Company, in Portland, Ore.

Saint John’s U. (Collegeville, Minn.): $3-million from Frank and Julia Ladner to support a scholarship fund for undergraduate students and for the university’s Abbey Guest House. Mr. Ladner, a 1948 graduate of the university, is Illinois branch manager for R.T. Jones Capital Equities, in St. Louis.

Stanford U. (Calif.): $5-million from L.W. Lane Jr. to endow its Center for the Study of the North American West. Mr. Lane, a 1942 graduate of Stanford and a resident of Portola Valley, Calif., is the retired co-chairman of the board of Lane Publishing.

Stetson U. (DeLand, Fla.): $3.5-million from an anonymous couple to endow its creative-writing program. The gift will support a professorship, student scholarships, writing courses, lectures by well-known writers, and other needs.

U. of California at Santa Barbara: $1-million from Mark and Susan Bertelsen for the College of Engineering and the Center for Information Technology and Society. Mr. Bertelsen, a trustee of the university’s foundation, is a lawyer in Palo Alto, Calif.

Wartburg College (Waverly, Iowa): $2-million from Grant Price to endow a chair in communication arts, support scholarships, and augment the endowment of the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting. Mr. Price is professor emeritus of communication arts at the college and worked in television broadcasting.

West Tennessee Healthcare Foundation (Jackson): $5-million from Jim Ayers, chairman of the board of First Bank, in Lexington, Tenn., for its endowment.