Business Wire founder gives $20 million to SCU
Education and Information Technology at Santa Clara University received a giant boost into the future in 2001 with a $20 million gift from Lorry I. Lokey, founder and president of Business Wire, Inc. and member of the SCU Board of Trustees.
Lokey's gift will provide $15 million to help create Santa Clara's Library for the 21st Century, and $5 million to endow the Joanne Harrington, Lorry Lokey Endowed Scholarship.
"We aim to create a world-class resource where our faculty and students can gather information from around the world in unprecedented volume. Santa Clara must be part of this new wave of accessibility," says University President Paul L. Locatelli, S.J. "Lorry Lokey's lead gift moves us far along that path, and will inspire other donations."
The new Library for the 21st Century will serve as the intellectual commons of the University, a place where people and ideas interact in both real and virtual environments to expand learning and to facilitate the creation of new knowledge.
The new facility will combine operations that are currently spread among Orradre Library, Media Services, and Information Technology. It will house the most up-to-date technologies, information collections in traditional and innovative formats, and staff experts to support wide access for SCU's students and faculty. The cost of building the facility is estimated to be $75 million.
Lokey was introduced to the University by his friend Joanne Harrington, who has been extensively involved in volunteer work for a number of educational causes in the Bay Area. Since 1991, Harrington has been an active member of SCU's Board of Fellows, whose 170 members reach out to the local community to make friends for Santa Clara, raise awareness of the University, and raise scholarship funds for Santa Clara students. The two founded the Joanne Harrington, Lorry Lokey Endowed Scholarship to help provide a quality education to deserving young people. The Board of Fellows has been challenged to raise an additional $5 million in scholarships, of which $2.8 million has so far been raised.
Harrington says that Lokey has a "passion for life. He loves being around stimulating people, visiting other countries and environments, and seeing where he can help people make the most out of their lives through education."
Lokey, a 1949 journalism graduate of Stanford University, says "Santa Clara gives us a sense of belonging, a sense of family." He learned that Santa Clara has been highly ranked in the nation by U.S. News and World Report but didn't have a large endowment. Lokey says he made his gift in recognition of the value of education to improve the lives of individuals and create stronger societies.
"I realized I can't save the whole world, so I concentrate on education where at least a mark can be made. I was lucky that my business gave me the opportunity for success and I feel a great responsibility to plough it back for the generations to come," he says.
Lokey's gift is the largest single pledge or gift to Santa Clara University by a non-alumnus.
Bill Hannon Foundation pledges $4 million for new library
On May 18, 2003, the Bill Hannon Foundation of Los Angeles pledged a total of $4 million in support of Santa Clara University’s new library project. This pledge adds to the fund-raising drive for the new library kicked off two years earlier when Lorry I. Lokey, founder and president of San Francisco-based Business Wire, pledged $15 million to replace the 152-year old institution’s library with a technology-infused learning center.
The Hannon Foundation gift will support the construction and technology for an “automated retrieval system” that forms the core for Santa Clara’s plan to cost-effectively store and efficiently circulate the majority of its print collection. This facility will be one of a handful of such innovative systems in use in universities nationwide.
Founded in 1983 by the late William H. Hannon, a Los Angeles-area real estate developer, the Hannon Foundation has supported many Catholic schools, Missions and hospitals, as well as numerous other public and private nonprofit organizations, primarily in Southern California.
In addition supporting the University’s library project, the Hannon Foundation also pledged $1 Million to fund programs at SCU’s Pedro Arrupe S.J. Center for Community-Based Learning.
Rep. Honda announces $900,000 for Santa Clara University library
On February 21, 2003, U.S. Representative Mike Honda announced $900,000 for Santa Clara University as part of the $397.4 billion spending bill signed by President George W. Bush the previous day.
"I am proud to announce $900,000 for Santa Clara University," said Honda. "These resources will be used to construct a world class library that will be an important resource to students, businesses, and all of Silicon Valley."
Santa Clara University is in the 15th California Congressional District served by Representative Honda. The federal monies will be specifically used for technology acquisition, smart classrooms, and technology infrastructure for the dissemination of resources to the community.
Sobrato Family donates $20 Million to Learning Commons, Technology Center and Library
On January 28, 2007 Santa Clara University announced a $20 million gift from the Sobrato family, prominent Silicon Valley philanthropists and owners of one of the largest commercial and residential real estate development firms in California.
The gift will go toward the construction of the new Learning Commons, Technology Center and Library on the University’s campus and pushed the University’s fundraising campaign over the $400 million mark. The campaign included funds for scholarships, professorships, and other important capital projects, including a new business school building.
“Silicon Valley has been good to me, and I want to share that success,” said John A. Sobrato ’60. “SCU graduates have shaped generations of leaders in companies in Silicon Valley. The University has changed a lot since I graduated in 1960 but what has stayed the same is the soul of the Jesuit mission: educating students with an emphasis on ethics and a commitment to giving back to the community.”
The Sobrato family has long ties to Santa Clara University. John A. Sobrato is a member of the University’s Board of Trustees and a classmate of University President Paul Locatelli, S.J. His son and daughter-in-law, John Michael Sobrato and Abby Sobrato, graduated from SCU in 1983. John Michael Sobrato was chair of the SCU Board of Fellows from 2001-02, and Abby Sobrato is also a former president of the Catala Club, another SCU fundraising group. In 2005, John Michael and Abby Sobrato made a gift to the new library in honor of Norman Martin, S.J., professor emeritus of history at SCU. Daughter Sheri J. Sobrato earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology from SCU in 1994.
“The Sobrato gift to the Learning Commons, Technology Center and Library will benefit many generations of students and faculty. By generously investing to improve the campus learning environment they are helping move Santa Clara to a higher level of quality,” said SCU President, Paul Locatelli, S.J. “The Learning Commons, Technology Center and Library is the most important facility to be built in my tenure as president at Santa Clara.” Construction of the building began in summer of 2006 and will be completed during spring term 2008.
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