UCSD officials said its $47 million secured funding from private sources will pave the way for the construction of a new 270,000-square-foot cancer center on campus.
A $20 million gift from San Diego Padres owners and University of California regent John Moores and his wife Rebecca, is among the largest gifts the university has ever received from private individuals, UCSD officials said May 4.
The envisioned facility to be named “John and Rebecca Moores UCSD Cancer Center” in honor of the donors would combine research space, outreach programs, educational material on cancer for public use, and an outpatient clinic under one roof.
According to Dr. David Bailey, interim vice chancellor for health sciences and dean of the school of medicine, between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet will be dedicated to the outpatient clinic. He added it is too early to say how the rest of the space will be divided.
Initial staff would include 300 physicians, scientists and professional staff.
“This initiative is not just about a new building,” said Dr. David Tarin, director of the UCSD Cancer Center. “The new facility is designed to bring all of the components of the cancer center together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of the parts.”
The university has raised $47 million thus far, half the total amount needed to construct and equip the center.
An estimated $75 million is needed to build the facility and an additional $25 million to buy equipment.
A UCSD spokeswoman said she’s confident that other private individuals will step forward in support of the planned initiative.
“We have a number of generous patrons,” said Leslie Franz, a UCSD spokeswoman.
Other donors include Jerome and Miriam Katzin, who committed $15 million toward the program.
San Diegans William and Robin Comer, Maurice and Charmaine Kaplan, Ron and Mary Taylor, and Frank and Lee Goldberg contributed more than $1 million each.
Franz estimates construction of the new building will begin sometime in 2001 on the university’s east campus near UCSD Thornton Hospital.
Bailey hopes the facility will open by mid-2003. None of the building will be tax-funded, he added.
The announcement follows recent good news for UCSD of an awarded $16.5 million grant by the National Cancer Institute to support leukemia research.
The grant is among the largest UCSD has ever received, UCSD officials said April 25.
