UCLA Sets $191-Million Fund-Raising Record

Private fund-raising efforts produced banner results for UCLA during the fiscal year that ended in June, bringing in $191 million in donations and grants, the most ever for a University of California campus, officials said.

Nearly a quarter of the record-setting total came from the largest donation ever to the university from an individual--$45 million, given anonymously, that will be used to build a 120,000-square-foot research building for the UCLA School of Medicine.

Other pledges included a $12-million donation to the university’s Children’s Hospital from Rubin Brown, an 83-year-old Sun Valley businessman; a $7.5-million contribution to support women’s health programs from the Revlon Foundation; a $6.9-million bequest from the estate of David Simon to establish scholarships for the law school and the general campus, and a $6.2-million commitment to the university’s business school from Clark Cornell and his wife, Barbara June.

Overall, the amount raised was 73% higher than the previous year, even though alumni contributions to the annual fund were about the same. The previous fund-raising high was $124 million in 1989-90.

UCLA Chancellor Charles E. Young, who plans to retire next June, has made private fund-raising a priority for the public university, citing a decline in state support. During the past nine years, the university has accumulated more than $1 billion in philanthropic support.