A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
The billionaire banker Denny Sanford pledged $350 million to the South Dakota health system that bears his name. The money will support the establishment of a virtual-care hospital that will provide accessible care to patients who live in rural and underserved areas of the Midwest.
A longtime donor to many institutions in South Dakota and California, where he has homes, Sanford pledged $300 million to the health-care system in March to broaden its graduate medical-residency program and expand the health system’s sports complex. Including his latest donation, Sanford has committed a total of nearly $1.5 billion to the health care provider.
Sanford is chairman of United National Corporation, a banking company in Sioux Falls, S.D. He has appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors 11 times since 2005.
Sanford was investigated last year by state and federal authorities for the possible possession of child pornography on an electronic device that he owned. He has not been charged with a crime, and the investigationappears to be ongoing.
University of California at Berkeley
Herbert and Nicole Wertheim pledged $50 million through their Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation to expand the School of Optometry’s training and research programs. The school will be renamed the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science.
Herbert Wertheim is an ophthalmologist in Coral Gables, Fla., and the founder of Brain Power, a manufacturer of eye-care instruments. The company was the first to develop and manufacture a variety of sun-filtering, UV-blocking, and therapeutic eyeglass tints that can help improve vision, prevent cataracts, and reduce retinal and corneal deterioration.
The couple have given extensively to nonprofits over the years and appeared on the Chronicle’s annual Philanthropy 50 list of the biggest donors in 2015 when they gave a total of $52 million to universities in Florida.
Christopher Bickell gave $20 million to support the university’s football program. Of the total, $10 million will go toward training, nutrition, and education efforts within the football program. The remainder of the gift will be used to endow those efforts.
Bickell founded Liberty IT Solutions, a Herndon, Va., technology company that was acquired by Booz Allen in June for $725 million. He currently serves as CEO of WellHive, a technology firm in Washington that connects military veterans with health care services. Bickell graduated from the university in 1997 with a degree in communications.
Carnegie Mellon University
Frank Brunckhorst III donated $10 million, half of which will be used to construct a science building, which will include a new home for CMU’s Neuroscience Institute; the remaining $5 million will support the institute.
Brunckhorst serves on the Board of Directors and is a former chairman of Boar’s Head Provisions, a Sarasota, Fla., company that provides deli meats and cheeses to restaurants and grocery stores. The company was co-founded in Brooklyn by Brunckhorst’s grandfather in 1905. The younger Brunckhorst graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1987 and serves on its Board of Trustees.
Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
John Streicker gave $10 million to back new programs for young Jewish professionals, unaffiliated families with children of all ages making decisions about their religious identity, and others interested in learning more about Judaism.
Streicker is chairman of Sentinel, a New York real-estate firm he joined in 1976. Earlier in his career, he served in executive positions with investment firms and was an associate lawyer at the New York law firm of Root, Barrett, Cohen, Knapp and Smith.
He is a longtime Temple Emanu-El board member and gave a $15 million gift in 2016 to establish the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center.
University of West Florida
Dr. Herman and Valerie Rolfs left approximately $8.4 million, most of which will be used to establish a scholarship endowment for students in the School of Music, with a preference for students in need as well as members of the Argo Athletic Band. Some of the bequest will also support the music school’s ongoing plans to create a symphony orchestra, opera program, expanded concert series, and a graduate program.
Herman Rolfs was a pioneering nuclear radiologist who served as chief of radiology and nuclear medicine for White-Wilson Medical Center in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. He died last year. Valerie Rolfs was a nurse and nursing professor. She retired as an associate professor at Miami-Dade Community College and as a visiting professor for five schools of nursing in Colombia, South America. She died in 2019.
The couple both benefited from scholarship support when they went to college and wanted to provide others with access to higher education. In addition to their cash bequest, the Rolfs also left an Imperial Bösendorfer piano to the music school. Imperial Bösendorfers are a type of concert grand piano that is highly prized in concert-music circles.
American Journalism Project
Kathryn and James Murdoch donated $5 million through their Quadrivium Foundation to support the organization’s efforts to invest in local nonprofit news organizations and shore up local journalism throughout the country.
Kathryn Murdoch is a former marketing and communications executive who co-founded the clothing and accessories brand Thakoon. James Murdoch is a businessman who served as CEO of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to 2019, the company controlled by his father, Rupert Murdoch, a billionaire media mogul.
Tom Arthur pledged $5 million to strengthen the graduate program in the College of Business and to support student veterans and military personnel enrolled in the program.
Arthur is a retired business executive and private investor. He spent most of his career with the Havatampa Corporation, a cigar manufacturer in Tampa, Fla., and was instrumental in the company’s growth. He was a majority shareholder until the company’s sale in 1997. A U.S. Army veteran, Arthur served in the Vietnam War. He enrolled in the university’s business school after returning from the war and earned an MBA there in 1971.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.
