Volume 28 · Number 3 · Spring 2011
Campaign Gift Highlights
Engineering students, like these pictured above, will benefit from Pam Fair's recent gift. (UC Davis photo)
The Campaign for UC Davis is a universitywide initiative to raise $1 billion in philanthropic support from 100,000 donors to propel UC Davis to even greater heights of distinction, scholarship and service. Below are just a few recent examples of the thousands of campaign contributions helping UC Davis to advance excellence, innovation, opportunity, public service and quality of life:
Doug '77, M.S. '79, and Julianne Muhleman recently made gifts totaling more than $260,000 to the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, including $100,000 to double the size of the Michael J. Lewis Endowment for Brewing Science, which supports students and other initiatives in the brewing sciences; $100,000 to the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science endowment, a matching fund for gifts up to $1 million; and $60,000 to support research in pollination ecology. The Muhlemans are longtime donors to UC Davis. Doug Muhleman also serves as a UC Davis Foundation trustee and is a member of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean's Advisory Council.
To date, almost 2,500 Theodora Peigh Memorial Scholarships have been awarded to students in the School of Veterinary Medicine. Theodora Peigh was an animal lover from Reno, Nev., who left the bulk of her estate, valued at more than $13 million, to UC Davis to further animal health by supporting aspiring veterinarians. The bequest is one of the top 10 largest campaign contributions to date.
The late Gerald L. McDermott, a former rice farmer from Maxwell, has provided a $1.5 million estate gift to the School of Medicine to support prostate cancer research. His gift paid tribute to Fred Meyers, the school's executive associate dean and a national expert in oncology. McDermott also provided additional gifts for the same research purpose by establishing two charitable remainder unitrusts.
Pam Fair '80 recently gave $100,000 to UC Davis — $50,000 to establish and endow the Pamela J. Fair '80 Undergraduate Scholarship for Leadership in Engineering, and $50,000 to a fund that will support emerging opportunities. Fair is the immediate past chair of the UC Davis Foundation Board of Trustees and a longtime donor to the university. She is vice president of environmental, safety and support services and chief environmental officer for San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Gas Co.
As of Feb. 1, the UC Davis Annual Fund had received gifts and pledges from more than 10,000 donors — totaling more than $1.2 million — since the 2010–11 fiscal year began in July. These gifts provide the university with valuable, flexible funding to support students and faculty, and to meet emerging opportunities. The UC Davis Parents Fund is part of the Annual Fund, and recognizes parent giving. So far this fiscal year, more than 4,000 parents have made gifts totaling more than $460,000 to the Parents Fund. Typically one-third of Annual Fund contributions come from UC Davis parents. These gifts provide a critical and annual source of philanthropic support.
Back to The Campaign for UC Davis