$5-Million Gift Buoys UCI Medical College

Amid the scandal at UC Irvine’s fertility clinic, College of Medicine administrators Thursday got some good news for a change--a $5-million gift.

Orange County philanthropist William J. Gillespie donated the money to the college, the first distribution of a $17-million trust established for medical research and local arts organizations.

School administrators said the gift will go toward recruitment of faculty to the College of Medicine, development of the Center for the Health Services, and improvement of the college’s academic programs.

Thomas C. Cesario, dean of the College of Medicine, said Gillespie’s gift is well-timed to help the college deal with its image problem caused by allegations of wrongdoing at the Center for Reproductive Health.

“This gift shows that people still have confidence in us, and people still think that we can still do what we set out to do, which is to continue to build and continue to serve the people of Orange County and the state of California,” Cesario said.

The College of Medicine knew it would receive part of Gillespie’s trust, but college officials weren’t informed how much the institution would receive or when the money would come.

A spokesman for Gillespie, grandson and heir to a founding investor in Farmers Insurance Group, said the timing of the gift was just coincidental.

“This is not related at all to the scandal,” said Richard Gadbois III.

Gadbois, first vice president of Merrill Lynch and active in deciding how the donation will be divided, said “plans for the gift were decided several weeks before the story broke.”

Gadbois said Gillespie decided to go ahead with the contribution despite the scandal.

“Scandals come and go, but in the end the university will outlive all of us and outlive the scandals,” Gadbois said. “Bill’s interest was to get the funds to the university at a time when the university and the county can use it most effectively.”

The original gift to the College of Medicine was $8.5 million, and through the trust its value grew to $10 million, Gadbois said. Half of the total was donated Thursday, and the rest will come out at the end of 14 years, Gadbois explained.

UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening expressed her gratitude for the gift.

“The timing reflects [Gillespie’s] concern for medical research and his confidence for UCI,” Wilkening said.