May 1, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
How much: $110-million
Who gave it: John and Julie Mork. Mr. Mork is chief executive of Energy Corporation of America, a natural gas and oil company, in Denver.
Who got it: The University of Southern California, in Los Angeles.
Purpose: To provide merit scholarships that will allow students who do well in high school to attend the institution, regardless of their family’s financial status.
Donors’ relationship to the university: Mr. Mork graduated from the university in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering and has been a trustee since 2006. The couple’s daughter, Alison, and son, Kyle, are also alumni.
Previous gifts: In 2006 the family gave $15-million to USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering.
How the gift came about: The gift had been in the works since December, but the final amount was a surprise to C.L. Max Nikias, the president of USC. Mr. Mork said he and his wife decided on the figure because they wanted to provide enough money to award scholarships to at least 40 students per year for all four years of college and to do so in perpetuity.
How the gift ranks: This is the second gift of more than $100-million the university has received in the past two months.
Why the Morks gave: “The bottom line to me is students,” says Ms. Mork. “That’s where my heart is. It’s really not in a building or bricks-and-mortar kinds of things.” Mr. Mork noted that some of the scholarships will be earmarked for students from the neighborhoods near USC, including some of the poorest parts of the city.
For details about other new gifts, including $41-million to the Hunstman Cancer Institute, go to http://philanthropy.com/topdonors. Send gift news to gifts@philanthropy.com.
