Largest gift to U.S. public university announced
DENVER, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A Silicon Valley couple on Tuesday donated $250 million to the University of Colorado, the largest gift ever to a public university in the United States.
Bill Coleman, founder and chairman of BEA Systems (NASDAQ:BEAS) of San Jose, Calif. and his wife, Claudia, will finance the University of Colorado Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities. The institute aims to help people who are mentally retarded, have Alzheimer's disease or who have suffered traumatic brain injury or a stroke.
About 20 million people, or 7 percent of the U.S. population, have some type of cognitive disability, the university said.
The Colemans said they were inspired by their niece, Suzanne, who had learning problems, after they saw her make progress using a computer they had given her in the mid-1980s.
"It helped her with motor skills and dexterity. Computers also provide a great way to stay focused," Claudia Coleman, a former manager with Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP), told reporters.
In October the Colemans donated $2 million to the university to sponsor a forum on treating cognitive disabilities.
Out of that effort grew a desire to bring together professionals with diverse backgrounds, such as engineers and geneticists, to work on solutions.
BEA Systems, a publicly traded company, makes software that modifies old mainframe computers so they can go online. Its BEA Tuxedo software is used by companies such as Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), FedEx (NYSE:FDX), and United Airlines (NYSE:UAL) to process millions of daily transactions, including billing, shipping and price quotes.
Copyright 2001, Reuters News Service |
