Massive Philanthropic Infusions Announced for US Universities

A total of more than $1 billion will go to institutions including the Cleveland Clinic, Duke University, and branches of the University of California.

Written byShawna Williams

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Large donations announced in recent weeks will fund research and education initiatives at multiple academic institutions across the US. The gifts, from the Weill Family Foundation, foundations established by the late manufacturing titan Thomas Lord, and record label founder David Geffen, add up to more than $1 billion.

The Weill gift, reported November 12 by the San Francisco Chronicle, totals $106 million and will fund an interconnected hub for neuroscience research based at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of Washington. The money will go toward faculty, postdoc, and graduate student positions. “We’ve made great strides in cardiovascular disease and infectious diseases, and we’ve made no strides of any consequence in the brain, which is the most complicated part of one’s body. That’s what got me interested,” Sanford “Sandy” Weill, chair of the Weill Family Foundation, tells the ...

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
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Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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