Philanthropic Support to UC Davis Surpasses $100 Million for Third Consecutive Year

Some highlights of the year’s donations include:

* $16 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support research to prevent childhood malnutrition in developing countries. The five-year philanthropic grant is helping UC Davis lead an international team of researchers to formulate a nutritional supplement for women and children in impoverished areas of the world.
* Thiebaud, a world-renowned painter and UC Davis professor emeritus, and his wife gave the campus a rare birthday gift: 20 of Thiebaud’s hand-worked prints valued at an estimated $860,000. One, “Cakes and Pies,” is featured in a series of limited-edition posters in honor of the UC Davis Centennial, which is being celebrated through the end of the summer. The others will be publicly exhibited at the Richard L. Nelson Gallery and Fine Arts Collection on campus in January 2010 and have been made available right away for art students to study.
* The nearly $1.3 million philanthropic grant from Autism Speaks to the UC Davis Health System, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the College of Biological Sciences, for research investigating autism. In April, UC Davis reported on research partially funded by Autism Speaks grants to the School of Veterinary Medicine and M.I.N.D. Institute. The research findings may explain the association between exposure of the developing nervous system to the organic compounds known as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and behavioral deficits in children.
* $2.5 million from the Chevron Corp. to create the Chevron Chair in Energy Efficiency. The appointee will direct the Energy Efficiency Center, which was established in 2006. The world’s first university center of excellence in energy efficiency, its primary objective is to speed the transfer of energy-saving products and services into the homes, businesses and lives of Californians.
* More than 16,000 donors supported the Annual Fund in 2008-09, giving nearly $1.8 million. The chancellor allocates Annual Fund gifts to areas of greatest need, including student scholarships and faculty support. Many donors honored Chancellor Vanderhoef, who is stepping down Aug. 16, by giving to the UC Davis Annual Fund in his name or by contributing to a special fund created in his honor, the Larry N. Vanderhoef Scholarship Fund for Students and Staff.