The University of California, Irvine has announced a $50 million gift from businessman Joe C. Wen and his family in support of the newly created school of population and public health and the growth of cardiovascular research and care.

The gift includes $42.5 million to establish a fund to address priority needs of School of Population and Public Health. The remaining $7.5 million is dedicated to advancing cardiological research, education and clinical operations within the school of medicine and the UCI Health system.

In recognition of the gift, the school will be named after Wen, making it the first University of California school named after a Taiwanese American. The Irvine campus also intends to recognize the donors by renaming the School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology to the Mary & Steve Wen Cardiovascular Division—the first named division at the School of Medicine—in honor of Wen’s parents, and the UCI Health Cardiovascular Center at UCI Medical Center in Orange will be renamed the Tsai Ya Au Heart & Vascular Pavilion, in memory of his grandfather.

“Our family’s commitment to advancing healthcare and education has always been a core value,” said Joe C. Wen. “We are honored to support UC Irvine in its mission to improve health care and advance teaching and research, continuing a legacy of care and compassion for future generations.”

(Photo credit: Flickr/Steve Zylius/UCI)