US philanthropist gives $10m for new U of Haifa downtown campus

A $10 million donation to the University of Haifa will be used to build a downtown campus in an effort to revitalize the school and the city.

A new campus of at least four buildings will be located in the Port of Haifa and the city’s downtown area.

The donation is from American philanthropist Lorry Lokey, the founder of the international media relations service Business Wire.

An early signer of The Giving Pledge — a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving back — Lokey has donated more than $800 million, or some 98 percent of his lifetime earnings, to philanthropies, universities and educational institutions, including University of Oregon, Stanford, the Leo Baeck School, the Weizmann Institute of Science and the University of Haifa.

The Haifa municipality is assisting the university with the acquisition of some of the new buildings, and Lokey’s donation will be used to cover the project’s renovation costs.

“This gift is an affirmation of its mission to improve access to education and bring more jobs, stability and security to northern Israel by establishing a downtown campus,” Lokey said in a statement. “I invite others to join me in transforming what is becoming one of Israel’s most important universities.”

— JTA