Donor Gives $250 Million for the Disabled

A Silicon Valley entrepreneur, inspired by the struggles of a mentally disabled niece, is donating a record $250 million to the University of Colorado to develop technology to help people with Down syndrome, autism and other disabilities.

The donation from Bill Coleman, chairman and co-founder of software maker BEA Systems, and his wife, Claudia, is the largest gift ever to a public university.

In return, the University of Colorado is launching the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, an interdisciplinary research center that will draw experts from the health and computer sciences, psychology, engineering and special education fields.

One of the principal ideas is to adapt existing technology, from cellular phones, hand-held Global Positioning System units and personal digital assistants to help people with mental disabilities lead more independent lives, Coleman said.

“We have the technology to give them their independence and bring these people back into society,” he said.

Such devices, he said, will have broad potential as more Americans join the ranks of the elderly, suffer debilitating strokes and struggle with dementia, such as the conditions associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

“We have a whole baby boomer population looking forward to a long retirement,” Coleman said.

The Colemans’ donation, to be given over five years, is the latest from high-technology executives who have decided to share their sudden and enormous wealth to advance society--often with a technological solution.

Such venture philanthropy from titans of the new economy comes with an added twist: They often insist that the recipients use entrepreneurial techniques to leverage success and speed up results.

From the start, Coleman explored the idea in the style of a venture capitalist. He supplied the university with several hundred thousand dollars in seed money to survey the research fields and then about $3 million to figure out exactly how the larger gift might have the greatest effect.

Finally, Coleman has persuaded university officials to allow the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities to retain ownership--rather than the entire university--of any new developments, so it can plow royalties or other earnings back into research.

“Making a lot of money and making a business that will last is certainly fulfilling,” Coleman said. “But this is the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done.”