Oracle Chairman Gives $50 Million Gift to UCSB
Santa Barbara – Jeff Henley, Chairman of the Board of Oracle and his wife Judy have committed $50 million to UCSB.It is the largest gift in the history of the campus. The money will go to UCSB for the Institute for Energy Efficiency and College of Engineering. The new gift will help advance research and collaboration at the college.”The gift allows us to play an important role in supporting the priorities of the University and the College of Engineering by significantly advancing the sciences and the Institute for Energy Efficiency,” said Jeff Henley. “We hope to create new opportunities for research and discovery and to support UC Santa Barbara’s already strong commitment to preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers.” The Institute for Energy Efficiency at UC Santa Barbara is a world-ranked collaborative research campus that boasts five Nobel laureates. Its researchers are harnessing nanomaterials to create high-capacity storage batteries and high-efficiency fuel cells and constructing “energy harvesters” that will see waste heat re-purposed as electricity.”The Philanthropic leadership of Jeff and Judy Henley is deeply inspiring: we are thrilled by their vision and generosity, and excited about the momentum their gift provides as we launch the next phase of our billion-dollar Campaign for UC Santa Barbara,” said Chancellor Henry T. Yang.Of the total pledge, $30 million will go toward Henley Hall – the future base of operations for IEE and to be invested in faculty recruitment for both the institute and the College of Engineering. The additional $20 million, in the form of an estate commitment will support priorities of the College of Engineering.Jeff Henley graduated from UCSB in 1966. Judy Henley has been an honorary alum since 2009.”We are tremendously honored that this transformative $50 million gift for our Institute for Engineering Efficiency and our College of Engineering – the largest in the history of our campus – will become part of the Henleys living legacy at UC Santa Babara,” said Chancellor Yang.
