Friday, February 21, 1997
DONATION:
Pledge boosts campaign to fix earthquake damageBy Brooke
Olson
Daily Bruin Staff
Former Walt Disney Co. President Michael Ovitz will give his
alma mater $25 million to help rebuild the earthquake-damaged UCLA
Medical Center.
Ovitz, chair of the UCLA Medical Sciences executive board, was
unavailable for comment.
However, in a letter to medical school Dean Gerald S. Levey,
Ovitz said he and his wife were "thrilled to be able to make this
pledge to such a fine institution that has done so much for so
many."
University administrators said they were pleased with the
donation, noting that the gift, made through the Ovitz Family
Foundation, is the second-largest philanthropic contribution in
UCLA history.
"Since (Michael Ovitz) has served on the executive board for
medical sciences … he has become cognizant of the outstanding
work that the UCLA Medical Center performs," said Dr. Gerald Levey,
provost for medical sciences and dean of the UCLA School of
Medicine.
"So, when I asked him if he would be interested in making such a
gift (to the medical center), he was immediately enthusiastic about
it," Levey added.
UCLA is currently seeking donors to fund the $330-million
campaign to rebuild the campus’s world-renowned health sciences
center. So far, the Ovitzes’ donation is the lead gift of the
private fund-raising campaign.
Although the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has
contributed $432 million to rebuild the Westwood campus hospital,
and another $56 million to repair the quake-damaged Santa
Monica-UCLA Medical Center, the grants fall short of the
university’s goal.
The campus needs an additional $330 million in order to repair
the facilities damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
UCLA officials also want to renovate and expand space for
biomedical research and for the schools of medicine, public health,
nursing and dentistry.
In addition, UCLA officials unveiled a 12-year development
program last month that includes building a new 500-bed medical
center by 2003.
"We have a long range goal to expand and improve the medical
center," Levey said. "Over the next few years, we are going to make
a conservative effort to try and raise as much if not all of the
money that we need."
Construction for the development program is scheduled to begin
in January 2000.
The two-year project in Santa Monica, meanwhile, would begin in
1998, creating a 220-bed facility that would replace a portion of
the hospital damaged in the quake. UCLA also plans to build a large
outpatient care facility on its Santa Monica campus.
UCLA administrators lauded Ovitz for setting an inspirational
tone for the private fund-raising campaign.
"Through this landmark contribution, Michael and Judy Ovitz will
have a transforming impact on the UCLA medical enterprise," said
Chancellor Charles E. Young in a statement Wednesday. "Their
longstanding support of UCLA and this generous new gift demonstrate
exceptional confidence in our endeavors."
Both UCLA alumni, Michael Ovitz graduated in 1968 with a degree
in psychology, and Judy Ovitz earned her bachelor of arts in music
in 1969.
The couple have supported a broad range of UCLA programs since
the late 1970s, and Judy Ovitz is actively involved with the
humanities division of the College of Letters and Science.
In addition to serving on the executive board for the medical
sciences, Michael Ovitz closely works on university
fund-raising.
"In our negotiations with FEMA, (Ovitz) played a pivotal role in
the negotiations and tried to secure the appropriate funding from
the agency," Levey said.
Ovitz was awarded the university’s highest honor  the UCLA
Medal  last May for his commitment to the future of health
care.
"He’s a wonderful man and I hope people in this community will
recognize the extraordinary contribution Ovitz has made to the
university," Levey said.
Daily Bruin File Photo
Former Walt Disney Co. President Michael Ovitz at the medical
school graduation last spring.