Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison has pledged $200 million to the University of Southern California to back the construction of a state-of-the-art cancer research center. The cash gift is one of the most lucrative single donation the school has ever received to date.
Worthwhile Investment
The facility will be fittingly named the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine. It will be under the supervision of engineering and medicine professor David B. Agus. He will be joined by an astute collection of engineers, biologists, physicists and mathematicians who are committed to prevent, treat and find a cure for cancer.
"This investment by Larry Ellison in USC is as inspirational as it is momentous, and it will serve as a dynamic force for change in how we approach cancer treatment and prevention," USC president C. L. Max Nikias told CBS News. "It is a concrete endorsement of USC's vision to invest in the promise and potential of new technologies, and to support a bold push forward in how we achieve wellness."
Reaching Out
The brand-new cancer research center will be built in West Los Angeles, far from USC's main campus downtown. Nikias revealed that the donation did not come as a big surprise. On the contrary, USC and Ellison have been discussing the venture for over a year now.
"From the very first meeting he came across as being very motivated to do this. He is a strong believer in interdisciplinary research," said Nikias. "It's part of our strategy to reach out to larger patient populations."
Los Angeles Times reported that Ellison, the world's second-richest man in 2015, did not complete his college education and has never attended USC. Despite the odds, he went on to establish his own computer technology firm which is now worth $50 billion dollars, as per Forbes. Oracle is currently the second-largest software manufacturer in terms of revenue, trailing only behind tech juggernaut Microsoft.
