Gifts

The Anna & Harry Borun Foundation, on behalf of Dr. and Mrs. E. Raymond Borun, made a $150,000 gift to the Division of Digestive Diseases in support of a three-year fellowship. The division's fellowship program produces experts in every facet of clinical gastroenterology, hepatology and related research. It is the largest program of its kind in the nation, with up to 21 fellows receiving training at any time.

Long-time UCLA supporters Carol and James A. Collins made a $1.25-million gift to establish and support the unique and comprehensive UCLA Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia Care Program. This generous contribution covers approximately half of the current projected budget over the first five years. Mr. and Mrs. Collins are also launching a matching gift challenge to other donors who are passionate about this cause. The program will have three main components: the creation of a dementia registry, a needs-assessment of patients listed, and individualized dementia-care plans based on those assessments. Patti Davis, the daughter of former President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan and a dedicated advocate in the fight against Alzheimer's, is an integral member of the program.

The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation has received a bequest from the Estate of Elfrieda Davis that will provide more than $1 million to support the highest priority needs of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) . Unrestricted philanthropic funding allows the JCCC to make real-time investments in research and technology that increase the speed with which discoveries made in the laboratory are translated into innovative cancer therapies.

Recently, The Eisner Foundation funded a $250,000 grant in support of the Pediatric Pulmonology Program led by Dr. Sande Okelo. The program offers a full range of consultation, diagnosis and treatment approaches for children with asthma. Currently, there are insufficient numbers of pediatric asthma centers in the Los Angeles area that provide care to a broad patient population. UCLA's program will help improve access by emphasizing personalized care and collaboration among the key stakeholders (patients and their families, primary-care providers, health insurance providers, pharmacists and asthma specialists).

Philanthropist Connie Frank made a generous donation in support of the new Connie Frank Kidney Transplant Center at UCLA. It will occupy nearly 10,000 square feet of space on the Peter Morton Medical Building's (200 UCLA Medical Plaza) fifth floor. Expected to open by summer 2014, the facility will provide a significant boost to an already outstanding kidney transplant program. It will have state-of-the-art equipment and be designed to provide efficient, multidisciplinary ambulatory care in a patient-centered, architecturally enhanced environment. The Connie Frank Kidney Transplant Center will help promote excellence in healthcare delivery that is the core mission of UCLA Health System.

The Steven C. Gordon Family Foundation has made two pledges totaling $200,000 to benefit the UCLA Hospital System CEO Discretionary Fund and translational melanoma research under the direction of Dr. John Glaspy, M.D. '79, at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The Kenneth Jonsson Family Foundation has made a $100,000 gift to the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation to further ovarian-cancer research directed by Dr. Gottfried Konecny at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. This contribution, made in memory of Mary Ann Hackworth, continues the Jonsson family's long-standing tradition of supporting innovative cancer research at UCLA.

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded a three-year $799,859 grant to the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. It supports the Global Center for Children and Families' Mentor Mothers home-visiting program at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools.

Joan Payden, CFA, made a $100,000 gift to the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases for unrestricted support of its most pressing priorities. Ms. Payden is president and chief executive officer of Payden & Rygel, the global investment management firm that she founded in 1983.

The Resnick Family Foundation has pledged $2.1 million to the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. The purpose is to celebrate, perpetuate, and advance the work of Dr. Leo Rangell in psychoanalysis through an investment in scholarships, education and research. This gift will establish the Leo Rangell Professorial Endowment in Psychoanalysis for $2 million. Payout from the endowment will fund distinguished visiting professors and young scholars to the UCLA campus. The remaining $100,000 will create the Leo Rangell Archives Preservation Fund to preserve and digitize Dr. Rangell's detailed records under the administration of the director of the Semel Institute.

The Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation has received a pledge of $150,000 from the Susan E. Riley Family Foundation to advance pancreatic-cancer research under the direction of Dr. Timothy Donahue, M.D. '75. This gift represents a new phase in the Riley Foundation's long-standing partnership with the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center to improve the therapies available for this challenging disease.

Wendy and Ken Ruby have made a pledge of $100,000 to the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation to support current needs for next-generation technology at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC). This two-year commitment will allow the JCCC to upgrade vital shared resources that make progress possible in the fight against cancer.

The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA has received a final distribution of $160,000 from the Estate of Senta Weil. It will be allocated for the David Weil Fund, an existing endowment in support of research to prevent, cure, or ameliorate the effects of mental illness.