Honorable Mentions211 other known gifts of more than $1 million in 1997

11. RON BURKLE–$7.5 million to the WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL in Los Angeles. Burkle is an executive with the Yucaipa Cos.



12. SHELDON and ANITA DROBNY–$7.2 million to the UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS to fund endowed professorships in Jewish studies and visiting Jewish scholars, and to increase the number of Judaica books in the library. Sheldon Drobny is managing director of the Paradigm Group, an investment and financial-consulting firm. For several years the Drobnys have been involved with the R’fa-aye-nu Society’s efforts to preserve Judaica hidden during the Holocaust.



13. LAURA LEE and JACK BLANTON–$7 million to SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY, including $5 million to help build the Laura Lee Blanton Student Services Building and $2 million for other facilities and to endow an undergraduate academic-development-services complex. Laura Lee Blanton is president of her family’s Scurlock Foundation and a member of the SMU board of trustees. Jack Blanton is president of Eddy Refining Co. and chairman of the board of the Houston Endowment.



13. ELI BROAD–Total 1997 contributions: $7 million. Donations include $5 million to the WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL (Broad is co-chair of the hall’s fund-raising campaign). Also, $2 million to the business school at the donor’s alma mater, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY. About 10 years ago, Broad donated $20 million to the school’s MBA program. He is co-founder of Kaufman and Broad Home Corp., one of the largest home builders in the United States, and CEO of SunAmerica Inc., a Los Angeles-based financial-services group.



13. GERALD D. HINES and FAMILY–$7 million to the UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON for the college of architecture to create a permanent endowment and to fund scholarly research, graduate fellowships, and interdisciplinary urban-design studies. In recognition of the gift, the college has been named for Hines, who is chairman of an international real-estate firm also named for him.



13. LEONARD and JOAN HORVITZ–$7 million to RAINBOW BABIES & CHILDRENS HOSPITAL in Cleveland to fund an eight-story, 190-bed facility and extension of the existing hospital at the University Hospitals of Cleveland. The Horvitz family is prominent in the real-estate, construction, and communication industries. Joan Horvitz, who is known professionally as Joan Yellen, is a well-known women’s fashion designer.



13. ARDIS and ROBERT JAMES–Total 1997 contributions:$7 million. The gifts include a collection of historic quilts dating from 1750 to 1900 (valued at $6 million) to the UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT LINCOLN. Formerly Nebraska residents, the Jameses now live in Chappaqua, N.Y. They also pledged a $1-million endowed gift to establish an INTERNATIONAL QUILT STUDY CENTER at the university. Ardis James is a native of Lincoln and makes quilts. Robert James’ childhood memories of Ord, Neb., include the quilting sessions shared by his mother and her friends. A graduate of Harvard University and once a teacher at MIT, he spent part of his career with the CIA, was employed for 10 years by Mobil Oil, and also developed shopping malls.



18. STANLEY FULTON–$6.9 million to the UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA AT LAS VEGAS to fund the new building for the International Gaming Institute and to create an endowment for scholarships in the honors program. Fulton is president and founder of Anchor Gaming. In the past, he has given the university more than $1 million to support academic scholarships and recreational facilities. He was given the Distinguished Nevada Award by the board of regents in 1992.



19. THE FLOYD CAILLOUX FAMILY–$6.8 million to SCHREINER COLLEGE (Texas), including a pledge of $6.4 million, the largest gift in the college’s history, to fund construction of a new campus activity center. The pledge follows the family’s gift in June of $400,000 to pay for preliminary studies and architectural plans for the multipurpose facility. Cailloux, who died in January 1997, was former chairman and senior chairman of the board of Keystone International Inc., a global leader in the manufacturing and marketing of flow-control equipment that was recently acquired by Tyco International Ltd. He had served on the board of trustees for several years.



19. CAROLE LITTLE and LEONARD RABINOWITZ–Their former headquarters and a warehouse in South-Central Los Angeles, valued at $6.8 million, to the ACCELERATED SCHOOL. Little is a well-known fashion designer. Rabinowitz is her former husband and business partner. The school, started as a state pilot project in 1992 by two public-school teachers, is fully funded by public money. A panel that includes Rabinowitz and Lynda Guber, former president of Education First! and the wife of film producer Peter Guber, has promised to raise $50 million over the next two years to add a high school to the campus, install cutting-edge technology, and establish an endowment fund.