LOS ANGELES, May 7 (UPI) -- The medical school at UCLA will be renamed in honor of David Geffen following the entertainment executive's record $200 million donation to the school, it was announced Tuesday.
Dr. Gerald Levey, dean of the Los Angeles school, said the endowment was the largest ever received by a medical school in the United States and the largest donation of any type made to the well-heeled University of California system.
"Through this landmark contribution, Mr. Geffen's generosity will have a transforming impact on the UCLA School of Medicine," Levey said. "This gift will help to sustain the School of Medicine's mission to remain at the forefront of medical education and research."
The medical school, which annually attracts more than 5,000 applicants for its 121 first-year positions, will be renamed the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
Geffen's endowment is unrestricted, meaning that the school may spend it as it sees fit. Levey said the funds would be used to attract high-caliber faculty and students, and to create new programs.
The donation topped the previous record gift to a U.S. medical school of $110 million made in 1999 to the University of Southern California by the W.M. Keck Foundation. The UC system's largest previous gift was $101.3 million made in 1999 by Catellus Development Corp., to UC San Francisco.
The 59-year-old Geffen, who was a member of the UC Board of Regents in the 1980s, made his fortune in the entertainment business. He was a founding partner in 1994 of DreamWorks SKG and also launched the record labels Geffen Records and Asylum.
The David Geffen Foundation supports a variety of other hospitals and health-related causes and is a prominent patron of the arts in Los Angeles. A stage theatre at UCLA is already called the Geffen Playhouse.
"Los Angeles is my home and I want to do my part in contributing to its future," Geffen said in a statement, adding that he held "great respect and affection for UCLA."
"My hope is that with this gift, UCLA's doctors and researchers will be better equipped to unravel medicine's mysteries and deliver the cures for tomorrow," he said.
