Baylor University slated to receive largest gift ever

Baylor University slated to receive largest gift ever

WACO, Texas — Baylor University has announced the largest gift in the school’s history — an estate provision estimated at $200 million from an anonymous donor. Much of the gift will benefit the Baylor school of social work.

The deferred gift is designated for the school of social work as well as medical research in Baylor’s college of arts and sciences and for other programs. It is the second-largest donation ever made to a Texas college or university and ranks among the top 20 private gifts made to higher education in the United States, according to the most recent data reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

A news release from Baylor simply identified the donor as “a Baylor graduate whose family has a history of providing gifts to the university supporting programs that are both innovative and have high potential to significantly advance the field of knowledge and experience in diseases, disorders, care, treatment and other issues associated with aging.”

The interdisciplinary nature of the gift enables Baylor to address physical, psychological, social, emotional and spiritual needs and strengths of the aging in a truly holistic approach, a university spokesman noted. Diana Garland, dean of the school of social work, said approximately half of the $200 million estate gift will be directed to the school of social work to expand “social-work research and cutting-edge development in response to issues of aging.” The school’s current operating budget is $3.7 million.

(TAB)