(Bloomberg) — Columbia University, still reeling from the sudden resignation of its president last week, announced that its medical school will receive a $400 million donation to fund biomedical research.
The donation from Roy and Diana Vagelos is the largest single gift to the New York School of Medicine. The money will help establish the Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science.
Roy Vagelos, 94, a medical school graduate, is a former CEO of Merck & Co. He made his fortune in the pharmaceutical industry and until last year was also CEO of the biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. Diana Vagelos graduated from Barnard College, a subsidiary of Columbia.
This brings the couple’s total donations to the medical school named after them to $900 million, making them the most generous donors in Columbia University’s history, the school said in a statement Thursday.
Columbia University was rocked on August 14 – three weeks before the start of the fall semester – when President Minouche Shafik announced her resignation after a tumultuous period sparked by protests against the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Simmering tensions erupted in the spring when pro-Palestinian protesters set up camps, eventually prompting Shafik to call the police to clear them out.
Her interim position has been filled by Katrina Armstrong, CEO of Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
“Your latest donation will enable us to build the world’s leading biomedical research ecosystem and attract the next generation of exceptionally creative and collaborative scientists,” Armstrong said in the statement.
Columbia said Roy Vagelos has worked closely with medical school leadership on previously funded projects over the past decade and began working with Armstrong on the latest donation when she arrived two years ago.
The new institute will train physicians and scientists in methods to translate the latest scientific findings into new therapies for patients. It will also support research into therapies for diseases such as blood disorders, immune system disorders, cancer, metabolic disorders and more.
Columbia is not the only university that has benefited from the Vagelos’ generosity recently. The University of Pennsylvania announced an $84 million donation from the couple earlier this year. Penn’s former president, Liz Magill, resigned in December following criticism of the university’s handling of the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
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