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$200M Gift Will Fund Integrative Health Sciences College At UCI

September 18, 2017 / 12:08 PM PDT / KCAL News

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IRVINE (CBSLA) — A $200 million gift will fund a first-of-its kind College of Health Sciences focused on interdisciplinary integrative health at UC Irvine.

The gift, announced Monday, is the largest in the history of UC Irvine and the seventh-largest to a single public university.

The Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences will be "the first university-based health sciences enterprise to incorporate integrative health research, teaching and patient care across its schools and programs," according to UCI officials.

Henry Samueli is the co-founder of Broadcom Corp., a manufacturer of semiconductors for the wireless and broadband communication industry, and the owner of the Anaheim Ducks. The UCLA alumnus and his wife, who is a former IBM engineer, are longtime supporters of UC Irvine.

The Samuelis' previous donations to UCI totaled more than $70 million, including a $30 million gift from the Samueli Foundation earlier this year for a convergent sciences building. In 2000, the couple received the UCI Medal -- the university's highest honor -- for contributions to UCI's mission of teaching, research and public service.

The existing Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine will become the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute and will focus on improving medical care by supporting multidisciplinary research, education, clinical service and community programs. Faculty and students in computer science, engineering, social sciences, business and other areas will collaborate within the institute to study the future of human health.

The Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences will ultimately include the institute and UCI's School of Medicine, Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy (currently the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences) and School of Population Health (currently the Program in Public Health).