UCSB has received a $50 million gift — the largest in school history — from Oracle chairman Jeff Henley, a university alumnus, and his wife, Judy, campus officials announced Saturday.
The gift, which will be formally announced at a reception Saturday evening at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management on campus, will support the Institute for Energy Efficiency and the College of Engineering.
Some $30 million will pay to construct a new building — Henley Hall — for the institute. The remainder will be used for various priorities in the College of Engineering, officials said.
“This gift allows us to play an important role in supporting the priorities of the university and the College of Engineering, by significantly advancing the sciences and the Institute for Energy Efficiency,” Henley said in a statement released by UCSB.
“We hope to create new opportunities for research and discovery, and to support UC Santa Barbara’s already strong commitment to preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers.”
University officials had planned to keep the Henleys’ gift secret until Saturday evening’s event, but released it earlier in the day after a Los Angeles news agency broke the story embargo.
Check back Saturday night for a complete story and photos from Noozhawk’s Lara Cooper.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
