July 19, 2021 | Read Time: 3 minutes
A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Jeff Bezos pledged $200 million to the museum for two big projects. Of the total, $130 million will be used to establish the Bezos Learning Center, and $70 million will go toward the museum’s extensive renovation project.
The new education center will feature programs and activities aimed at inspiring students to explore careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) fields and will offer programs to help teachers across the country more easily use the Smithsonian’s collections in their lessons and student projects. The center will coordinate STEAM-related programs across all Smithsonian museums.
Bezos founded the online retail behemoth Amazon and Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer and space-tourism company. He has given several huge gifts — including two multibillion-dollar ones — in the last several years and has appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors twice since 2018.
New York University Stern School of Business
William and Marjorie Berkley gave $50 million through their Berkley Family Foundation to support scholarships for undergraduates through the newly established Berkley Achievement Scholars Program.
William Berkley founded the W.R. Berkley Corporation, a property- and casualty-insurance holding company in Greenwich, Conn., in 1967 and ushered it through an initial public offering in 1974. He led the company as CEO for decades and now serves as its executive chairman. Berkley graduated from the business school in 1966 and is the current chairman of New York University’s Board of Trustees.
“When I was admitted to Stern, I was the beneficiary of a scholarship that gave me the chance of a lifetime to study tuition-free,” Berkley said in a news release. “I often think about this extraordinary opportunity that dramatically impacted the path of my life, and I am fortunate to be able to pay it forward.”
Pennsylvania State University
Ross and Carol Nese pledged more than $27.1 million to the College of Nursing, which will be named for them. The money will provide both endowed and outright support for scholarships, faculty and program support, and facilities and equipment.
Ross Nese founded Grane Healthcare, a company that manages long-term-care facilities throughout Pennsylvania. The couple are longtime supporters of the nursing school.
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
Michael Rankin pledged $22 million to support scholarships and the construction of a new building. Of the total, $12 million will support the current Michael Rankin MD Community Scholarship Endowment, which provides scholarships for medical students from rural Kentucky counties who have unmet financial needs.
Rankin is a retired primary-care and family-medicine physician. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the university in 1971 and worked for six years as an electrical engineer to help pay for medical school, receiving his medical degree from the university in 1980 and completing a residency in family medicine in 1983 at UK HealthCare.
He has served as chairman of the university’s Dean’s Advisory Council, as a volunteer faculty member in the UK Department of Family and Community Medicine, and on the College of Medicine scholarship and admissions committees.
Hammer Museum at University of California at Los Angeles
Los Angeles art collectors Jarl and Pamela Mohn gave nearly $5.2 million to create two endowments to support the Mohn Award, the Made in L.A. exhibitions, and acquisitions of emerging or underrecognized artists. The couple helped to establish the award in 2012. It is given to emerging and underrecognized artists based out of the greater Los Angeles region.
Jarl Mohn is currently an early-stage venture-capital investor who focuses on Los Angeles area businesses. He served as president and CEO of National Public Radio from 2014 to 2019. He started his career in radio as a disc jockey in New York and then as a radio programmer and general manager at radio stations in Kentucky and Texas. He went on to hold executive posts at the cable television stations MTV and VH1 and later created E! Entertainment Television.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.
