David Geffen Donates $100M To Create Private Grade School On UCLA Campus
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Entertainment mogul David Geffen is donating $100 million to create a private school on the UCLA campus for grades 6 through 12, the university announced Thursday.
Enrollment at the Geffen Academy at UCLA will be split equally between children from the Los Angeles community and children of the UCLA faculty and staff.
"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.
Geffen's grant will also help fund a financial aid program for low-and middle-income families. In addition, part of the donation establishes a $30 million endowment, $5 million of which will allow the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies to link the academy with UCLA's existing network of primary and secondary partner schools.
Geffen's latest gift brings his total philanthropic support to UCLA to more than $400 million. He is the largest individual donor to UCLA.
In 2012, he established a $100 million scholarship fund to fully cover the cost of education for the best students attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The medical school also received an unrestricted gift of $200 million from Geffen in 2002; at the time, it was the largest single gift to a U.S. medical school. Geffen also has contributed to theater and arts programs at UCLA.
The university anticipates that the Geffen Academy will be open for the 2017-18 school year, with approximately 125 students enrolled in the sixth and ninth grades, eventually growing to more than 600 students in grades 6 through 12.
To house the academy, UCLA plans to renovate the campus's Kinross Building. Later, as enrollment grows, the university plans to construct an adjacent building.
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