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David Geffen has gifted UCLA with $100 million, which will go towards the completion of a new university-run secondary school, called the Geffen Academy at UCLA.
The academy will provide an innovative college preparatory education for Los Angeles-area students in grades 6 through 12, UCLA said in making the announcement.
The donation will provide support for facility renovations, as well as faculty and curriculum development.The gift also will help fund a financial aid program for low- and middle-income familes, and UCLA projects that 40 percent of the students will receive aid. The gift also provides for a $30 million endowment, $5 million of which will go to the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies to link the academy with UCLA’s existing network of primary and secondary partner schools. The Geffen Academy also will help UCLA recruit faculty, by offering a college prep education for their children, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block noted.
“I’m happy to support UCLA in the creation of this unique educational opportunity for Los Angeles youth and the faculty, staff and students of the university,” Geffen said.
Students at the Geffen Academy will have access to to UCLA’s cultural and athletics programs,medical school, research labs and a wide range of community service opportunities. Geffen Academy students also will be able to take college-level courses.
UCLA has a number of K-12 schools and partner schools. They include the on-campus UCLA Lab School (preschool through grade 6), the UCLA Community School (grades K through 12) and four public schools near campus open to the children of UCLA employees. The Geffen Academy is expected to open for the 2017-18 school year, with approximately 125 students. To house the academy, UCLA plans to renovate the campus’ Kinross Building and later to construct an adjacent building.
With this latest gift, Geffen’s total philanthropic support to UCLA exceeds $400 million, making him the largest individual donor to UCLA. In 2012, he established a $100 million scholarship fund for students at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and a decade earlier, he gave the medical school an unrestricted grant of $200 million.
Geffen’s donation is part of the $4.2 billion UCLA Centennial Campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in December, 2019.
