Veterinary School Receives $21-Million; Other Gifts

Four institutions have received big gifts:

• Oregon State University, in Corvallis, has received a $21-million bequest from Lois Bates Acheson for its College of Veterinary Medicine. The majority of the gift will support the college’s endowment, and $1.5-million will establish a professorship. Ms. Acheson, a 1937 graduate of the university, was the owner of Black Ball Transport, a ferry service that runs from Washington State to British Columbia.
• The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science, in New York, has received a $20-million pledge from the family of Albert Willner, a retired orthopedic surgeon in New Jersey. The money will establish and endow a center at the Weizmann Institute, in Rehovot, Israel, that will focus on science and technology, leadership and resource development, and science education.
• Hebrew SeniorLife, in Boston, has received $15-million from Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson to build a facility that will provide housing and care for elderly people and house a school for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Miriam Adelson is a physician who specializes in drug abuse and addiction, and Sheldon Adelson is the developer of the Venetian, a hotel in Las Vegas, and chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
• The University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, has received a $10-million pledge from Janice Bryant Howroyd for student-aid programs. Ms. Howroyd is the owner and chief executive officer of ACT-1, a personnel-services company in Torrance, Calif., and a member of the university’s College Board of Councilors.

Other recent gifts:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston): $6-million from Roberta and Stephen R. Weiner to support a program focused on stem-cell research and minimally invasive surgical procedures for the delivery of cell therapies. Mr. Weiner is the founder of S.R. Weiner & Associates, a commercial real-estate-development company in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Burr and Burton Academy (Manchester, Vt.): $5-million from an anonymous donor for construction and renovation projects.

Central Oregon Community College Foundation (Bend): $2.8-million bequest from Robert and Margaret Turner for its endowment and scholarship support. The Turners owned an advertising and printing business in Pasadena, Calif., before moving to Bend. Mr. Turner died in 1982 and his wife died in 2003.

Clark College Foundation (Vancouver, Wash.): $4.1-million bequest from Hilma Speights, of Washougal, Wash., for nursing education. Ms. Speights, who died in 2004, spent most of her career working for Alcoa.

Columbia Business School (New York): $1-million from Gordon Wu to establish a lecture series that will explore economic and social trends in China. Mr. Wu is the founder of Hopewell Holdings, a construction and infrastructure-development company based in Hong Kong.

DePaul U. (Chicago): $1-million from Victor Cacciatore and his family to renovate the university’s athletic field. Mr. Cacciatore, a lawyer in Chicago, received both his undergraduate and law degrees from DePaul and is a member of its Board of Trustees.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge (Portland, Ore.): $4-million unrestricted bequest from Norman Yeon, of Portland, who died in 2004. The organization will use the gift to purchase land for conservation and to build its endowment and support other projects. Mr. Yeon was a real-estate investor and his father was a Portland businessman.

Johns Hopkins U. (Baltimore): $5-million from Willard Hackerman to endow scholarships at the engineering school. Mr. Hackerman, a 1938 graduate of the school and a university trustee, is president of the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company, in Baltimore. The university also received $1.3-million from Liza Bailey and Michael G. Musgrave to support a professorship in oncology research at its medical school, and $1-million from Emil Budnitz Jr. for scholarships for lacrosse players. Mr. Budnitz, of Baltimore, is a 1953 graduate of the university and a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation: $1-million from Fred W. and Mary B. Smith to construct a performing-arts facility. Mr. Smith is a retired president and chief executive officer of the Donrey Media Group, in Las Vegas, and the chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

Ringling School of Art and Design (Sarasota, Fla.): More than $1-million from Ann and Alfred Goldstein to strengthen and expand its academic programs. Mr. Goldstein, a trustee of the college, worked in the real-estate and construction business.

Tulane U. (New Orleans): $6-million from Bertie Deming Smith for endowment and the Murphy Institute of Political Economy. Ms. Smith, of Alexandria, La., is a member of the Tulane University President’s Council. Her late husband, John W. Deming, was a 1944 graduate of the Tulane Medical School and served on the university’s Board of Administrators.