University of California Irvine received a $200 million donation from Susan and Henry Samueli, PhD, the largest gift in school history, to build a new health sciences building and launch an integrative health initiative.
The college will use the donation to establish the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences, which will be the first university-based health sciences enterprise to use alternative medicine research, teaching and patient care across its programs. As part of initiative, the existing Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine will become the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. Integrative health uses alternative medicine such as preventatives, therapeutic and lifestyle approaches, in addition to conventional medicine, to promote health and wellness across patients and populations.
The majority of the gift, $145 million, will be used to establish an endowment for up to 15 chairs across the health sciences college, integrative health training for medical students, scholarships for prospective students, curricular development and integrative clinical research and services.
An additional $50 million will fund construction of the Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences facility, which will house the school of medicine, school of nursing, school of pharmacy and school of population health. Another $5 million will go toward technology and laboratories for the college.
"This gift catalyzes UCI's belief that human health and well-being requires a science-based approach that engages all disciplines in caring for the whole person and total community," said Howard Gillman, PhD, UCI's chancellor. "Susan and Henry Samueli's dedication, their vision for what is possible and their deep generosity will help UCI set a standard that, over time, other medical centers in the U.S. can follow."
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