Endowments

Vital to the future of higher education, endowments sustain the University even through tumultuous economic climates, serving as a permanent way to secure salary or funding in order to retain stellar faculty, as well as strengthening UCLA’s competitiveness in achieving federal research funding.

Endowments ensure opportunities for the pursuit of innovative research, provide training and education for future generations of world-class physicians and scientists, and accelerate the path to achieving national and international standing in research and clinical care.

Donors who choose to establish endowments often do so in honor or memory of someone who has made a difference in their lives. They also are making a difference, creating legacies of leadership, and guiding the University into the future.

Endowed funds are invaluable in supporting the mission of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA by ensuring a reliable and steady source of funding. The income from each endowed fund underwrites the purpose established by the donor.

Endowments can establish an institute, center, program, or research unit, representing the organization of scholarly activities, including clinical research, created around a specified purpose.

Faculty Support

Endowed chairs are the highest honor a university accords to scholarship, reserved for those who have reached the pinnacle of academic achievement. They pay tribute to both the holder who has earned the distinction and the donor who has embraced the vision.

An endowed chair offers a remarkable opportunity to invest in scholarly and scientific achievement, providing continuity of funding that gives a distinguished faculty member financial flexibility in planning long-term research, more independence from outside agencies, and freedom to explore promising new areas.

Endowed Chair (with salary support)
$5 million
The Endowed Chair (with salary support) will support a new faculty full time employee (FTE) on a permanent basis. This chair is a special incentive to recruit and/or retain gifted faculty members whose teaching and research exemplify UCLA’s mission. Endowment income provides salary support and resources for research and teaching.

Executive Chair
$3 million
The Executive Chair is awarded to department chairs at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Its purpose is to affirm the leadership role of senior-level University administrators who demonstrate superior academic or administrative distinction. This appointment remains with the position.

Endowed Chair (without salary support)
$2 million
The Endowed Chair (without salary support) is a special incentive to attract a scholar of distinction to UCLA or to retain gifted faculty members whose teaching and research exemplify UCLA's mission. Endowment income provides support for research and teaching.

Professional Development Term Chair
$1 million
The Term Chair provides the flexibility to recruit, retain and support the career development of exceptional younger faculty. It can be awarded for a term of one or more years, not to exceed five consecutive years.

Teaching Awards
$250,000
Endowment awards for teaching provide for the meaningful recognition of outstanding professors and lecturers year after year. Awards can be used at the honoree's discretion to further teaching or research activities. Individual academic areas determine the selection criteria and awards process.

Lectureships
$250,000
Endowed funds for lectures and colloquia facilitate the sharing and dissemination of research and information among members of the academic community. Such funding can provide needed resources for travel, honoraria and guest lectureships locally, nationally and globally.

Educational Endowments

Postdoctoral Fellowships
$1 million
Progress in the health sciences depends on the constant interchange between prominent investigators and gifted students. Postdoctoral fellowship endowments help to fund post-graduate scholars’ research and living expenses, enabling UCLA to engage promising academics. Such fellowships not only enhance the University’s ability to recruit top postdoctoral students, but are also crucial in the School of Medicine’s effort to attract and retain the most eminent professors.

Scholarships/Sustaining Scholarships
$100,000/$350,000
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA endeavors to provide significant and meaningful support for every student. Debt for UCLA's graduating medical students can be overwhelming, averaging $130,000. While comparable to UCLA’s peer institutions and below the national average, some UCLA students’ debt reaches $200,000 or more. However, when freed from career-dictating debt, students can pursue aspirations better aligned with their personal passions and the evolving healthcare needs of an ever-changing society.

For information on establishing endowments, please contact UCLA Health Sciences Development at 844-474-4387 or [email protected].

When designating a gift online, first click on either the “School” or “Cause” buttons, choose the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA or UCLA Health, then select the fund, department, or division that you would like to support.

UCLA and the UCLA Foundation’s disclosure statements for donors