UCI said it received a $4 million matching pledge from longtime university supporters Susan and Henry Samueli for the school’s Center for Jewish Studies.
The donation is the largest ever in support of Jewish studies at UCI and positions the university as a leader in the field, school officials said.
“Combating antisemitism requires a community effort, and we hope this matching gift will inspire others to join us,” Susan Samueli said in a statement.
The money will support the university in expanding programming to assist K-12 educators teaching about the Holocaust, adding two more department chairs and partnering with universities in Israel.
“Expanding Jewish studies on campus falls under a campuswide priority of ‘growth that makes a difference,’ facilitating interdisciplinary, problem-based scholarship and teaching,” UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman said in a statement. “Susan and Henry Samueli’s deep generosity will catalyze community support for Jewish studies at UCI and help UCI become a model for tolerance and appreciation of cultural and religious pluralism.”
Susan and Henry Samueli have been UCI donors for nearly 20 years. The $200 million pledge they made in 2017 to create the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences is one of the largest gifts in U.S. history to a public university, according to UCI officials.
