U. of Michigan Receives $44-Million for Diabetes Research; Other Gifts

Three organizations have received large gifts:

• The University of Michigan Health System, in Ann Arbor, has received $44-million from Bill and Dee Brehm, of McLean, Va., to establish a research center devoted to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Mr. Brehm was assistant secretary of defense under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford, and currently serves as chairman emeritus of SRA International, in Fairfax, Va. Mrs. Brehm was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 55 years ago.
• Arizona State University, in Tempe, has received $15-million from Julie Ann Wrigley to create an institute for the study of economic, environmental, and social issues related to global and regional sustainability. Ms. Wrigley serves on the ASU Foundation’s Board of Directors, and is president and chief executive officer of Wrigley Investments, in Sun Valley, Idaho.
• The Loomis Chaffee School, in Windsor, Conn., has received $10-million in unrestricted funds from Rosemary H. Benning. Mrs. Benning, of Pebble Beach, Calif., was married to Arthur E. Benning, who graduated from the school in 1930 and was the president of the Amalgamated Sugar Company, in Utah.

Other recent gifts:

Albright College (Reading, Pa.): $1-million from John D. Scholl, of Mohnton, Pa., to help expand a sports facility. Mr. Scholl, a member of the class of 1969, owns Berkco Properties, a real-estate investment company.

Arizona State U. Foundation (Tempe): $3-million from Ira A. Fulton to design a computer-visualization tool for examining the environmental effects of public-policy decisions. Mr. Fulton is the founder of Fulton Homes, a Tempe-based developer of residential real estate.

California State U. at San Marcos: $5-million from an anonymous couple to help construct a new business building.

Champlain College (Burlington, Vt.): $2.2-million pledge from Robert and Holly Miller, of Burlington, for its capital campaign and to endow a professorship. Mr. Miller owns REM Development, in Williston, Vt., a company that develops business and office space.

Columbia U. (New York): $1-million from Bob Barker, the game-show host, to endow a fund at its law school that will focus on the study of animal-rights law. Mr. Barker lives in Hollywood Hills, Calif.

Creighton U. (Omaha): $2-million from Charles F. and Mary C. Heider to endow a chair in cancer research at the medical school.

Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation: $1-million from Mary and Robert Wright to help design and construct the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Wright is chairman and chief executive officer of Medical Cities, a Dallas-based developer of medical facilities. His wife is president of Medical Space Design, which specializes in space planning and interior design for medical centers and other facilities.

Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation (Calif.): $1-million from an anonymous donor for the foundation’s campaign to save the historic Fox Theatre in downtown Fullerton from demolition.

George Mason U. (Fairfax, Va.): $1-million from Mark and Barbara Fried to establish a scholarship endowment. Mr. Fried is president and chief executive officer of the Fried Companies, in Springfield, Va., a real-estate development and management company. Ms. Fried serves as chairman emeritus of the company.

The Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore): $1-million from Louis and Nancy Grasmick to construct the Cardiovascular and Clinical Care Tower at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Mr. Grasmick is founder and chief executive officer of the Louis J. Grasmick Lumber Company, in Baltimore, and Ms. Grasmick is the superindent of schools for the State of Maryland.

Lenoir-Rhyne College (Hickory, N.C.): $3-million from Thomas W. Reese to establish an institute for the conservation of natural resources. Mr. Reese, a 1948 graduate of the college, owns the Hickory Printing Group.

National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (Baltimore): $4.5-million bequest from A. Norman Webb Jr. of La Jolla, Calif., who died this year. Mr. Webb, a former lacrosse player who was inducted into the Lacrosse Hall of Fame, spent his career in the U.S. military.

Saint Michael’s College (Colchester, Vt.): $1-million from Richard Tarrant, chairman of IDX, a medical-software company in Burlington, Vt., for scholarships.

Stanford U. (Calif.): $1-million from Bob Barker, the game-show host, to create an endowment at its law school that will focus on the study of animal-rights law. Mr. Barker lives in Hollywood Hills, Calif.

Swarthmore College (Pa.): $2-million from an anonymous donor for a new dormitory, and a $2-million pledge from Bruce Jay Gould, a retired cardiologist who lives in Philadelphia, for a professorship.

Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation (Canyon): $1-million from Joe Batson, of Amarillo, Tex., for this nonprofit group that works in music and film production.

Texas Tech U.: $6-million from Mark and Becky Lanier, of Houston, to build a facility for its law school. Mr. Lanier, a 1984 graduate of the law school, is founder and senior partner at Lanier Law Firm, which has offices in Houston and New York.

U. of California at San Diego: $4-million pledge from Donald and Darlene Shiley, of San Diego, for its Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Mr. Shiley invented and sold several medical devices, including heart valves and oxygenators.

U. of California at Los Angeles: $1-million from Bob Barker, the game-show host, to create an endowment at its law school to study animal-rights law. Mr. Barker lives in Hollywood Hills, Calif.

U. of Central Florida (Orlando): $2.5-million from Ken Dixon, a 1975 graduate of the university, to endow faculty recruitment and research. Mr. Dixon is chief executive officer of Leland Enterprises, a management and development company in Kissimmee, Fla.

U. of Great Falls (Mont): $2.3-million bequest from Genesio Morlacci, of Great Falls, for scholarships and other programs. Mr. Morlacci, who died this year, owned and operated a dry-cleaning business.

U. of Kansas (Lawrence): $1.75-million from Madison and Lila Self, of Hinsdale, Ill., to endow a professorship in pharmacy studies. Mr. Self is the former owner of the Bee Chemical Company, in Lansing, Ill.

U. of Wisconsin at Oshkosh: $1-million from John J. and Ethel D. Keller for a sports complex. Mr. Keller is the founder of J.J. Keller & Associates, a business resource for safety and regulatory solutions, in Neenah, Wis.

Wofford College (Spartanburg, S.C.): $2.5-million from Ann Cobb Johnson, of Spartanburg, to endow a chair in humanities and literature.