New donor-named buildings show fund reliance

The recent trend of naming campus buildings after donors rather
than faculty or prominent members of the UCLA community reflects
UCLA’s dependence on private donations because of a lack of
state funding.

The UCLA School of Medicine recently was named after
entertainment giant David Geffen, who donated $200 million to the
school.

In 2004, when construction is projected to finish, the UCLA
Replacement Hospital building will be named after former president
Ronald Reagan.

Both of these cases saw buildings named after donors, the latter
named because of $150 million raised in Reagan’s name by a
fund-raising campaign headed by Andrew Jerrold Perenchio, chairman
of Univision.

Many criticize the naming of the hospital after donors.

Officials should stick to naming buildings after faculty, said
Pam Felix, a first-year undeclared student.

Students should be able to feel connected with successful
faculty members when they walk around campus and see prominent
names attached to buildings, she said.

Yet, the university is dependent on these donations, making the
naming of buildings a “double-edged sword” situation,
said Christopher Bocchiaro, an alumnae of the UCLA School of
Medicine, who disagrees with the naming.

“Professors don’t have money, and money is
needed,” he said. “If we need outside donations, we
have to expect that the university will have to give up a little of
its independence.”

Renaming the medical school after David Geffen was “not
the right thing to do,” he added.

Those involved in the building of the replacement hospital
refused to comment on whether they felt the naming of the hospital
after the former president was appropriate.

Despite criticism, UCLA policy still allows buildings to be
named after donors.

There are inadequate resources at the state level, making it
necessary for institutions like UCLA to rely on private donations,
said Mike O’Donnell, the assistant vice chancellor in charge
of the replacement hospital project.

Without the availability of private donations, projects like the
rebuilding of the hospital would not be possible, he continued.

“We’re fortunate to have funding from people who are
willing to give so much,” he said. “It’s not
unfortunate that we have to depend on private donations.”

Naming a building after a donor is done to honor the generosity
of the person giving the gift, said Lawrence Lokman, assistant vice
chancellor of communications.

Factors other than donations are considered when naming a
building, said university officials.

The eminence of the individual, the relationship of the person
to UCLA, and the urgency of need for the funding are also taken
into account, Lokman said.

A big consideration for the naming of the replacement hospital
was to follow a “long tradition in higher education” to
nhe building after a president, he said.

Reagan’s reputation with the University of California,
however, has been a topic of debate.

Reagan once called Berkeley “a hotbed of communism and
homosexuality” and initiated the firing of Clark Kerr, the UC
President who would not use force against student protesters.

Kerr’s firing set off massive student demonstrations at UC
Berkeley and UCLA.

Reagan also barred Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver from being a
guest lecturer. Additionally, student fees went up numerous times
during his governorship.

In addition to money from Reagan’s supporters, funding for
the hospital includes $432 million from the Federal Emergency
Management Act which provided funds in response to the 1994
Northridge quake that damaged the UCLA Medical Center.

The state of California is providing $44 million and Mattel Inc.
pledged $25 million. Hospital bonds and additional private
donations also contributed to the $1.3 billion project.

Though funding came from different places, Reagan’s name
was given because his supporters gave a “substantial
gift” with $150 million outweighing the size of other
donations, O’Donnell said.

Officially the naming of buildings goes through the chancellor
of the college, the University of California, and the UC
President.

While buildings like Haines Hall and Kinsey Hall were named
after UCLA faculty, Kerckhoff Hall was one of the first buildings
to be named after a donor outside of the UCLA community who gave
$815,000 in 1929.