The W.M. Keck Gift

In July 1999, the University of Southern California announced that it had received a gift of $110 million from the W.M. Keck Foundation—the largest gift ever made to a medical school at the time and the largest single gift ever made by the Keck Foundation. USC, which committed to raising $330 million in matching funds, renamed its medical school the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California to recognize the generosity of the foundation.

The gift has enabled the Keck School to pursue strategic initiatives aimed at transforming the Keck School of Medicine from one of the top 25 medical schools in the nation to one of the top 10 within the next decade. A large portion of the gift is being invested in the expansion of Keck School research efforts, including the new Zilka Neurogenetics Institute at the Keck School. The Institute aims to expand scientific knowledge of the causes, progression and treatment of degenerative diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other debilitating illnesses.

“With its tremendous faculty, a focused, multidisciplinary approach and sufficient financial support, we believe USC, and indeed the entire medical research community, have an extraordinary opportunity to achieve major breakthroughs in the understanding and treatment of neurogenetic diseases. It is a great honor to be able to encourage and facilitate its continued growth and development with this grant.”

— Robert A. Day
Chairman and President, W.M. Keck Foundation.