Emory Gets Record-Breaking $400 Million Donation

DECATUR, GA — Emory University will be receiving a record-breaking $400 million donation to cure diseases and improve the lives of patients, the school announced Monday.

The pledge comes from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation and is the largest ever received by Emory. It will fund a new Winship Cancer Institute Tower in Midtown and a new Health Sciences Research Building at Emory's Druid Hills campus.

"This is an extraordinary gift at an extraordinary time in Atlanta’s history," said Emory President Dr. Claire E. Sterk. "We are grateful and honored to be the recipients of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation’s stalwart trust in our mission. The legacy of Mr. Woodruff lives on, and even today, his spirit of generosity is creating hope for those facing the most difficult days of their lives."

Woodruff was the president of The Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1954. Perhaps Atlanta's preeminent philanthropist, he was a benefactor of education and culture in the city, including Woodruff Arts Center, Woodruff Park and the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Emory. He is believed to have given millions more to Atlanta-area institutions anonymously during his lifetime.

He began supporting Emory in 1937. In 1979, he and his brother, George Woodruff, gave Emory the then-record sum of $105 million, the first-ever nine-figure gift to an institution of higher education. The foundation which now bears his name has continued to be a staunch supporter of Emory's, supporting education and healthcare at the university.

"This gift will allow us to accelerate the scientific discoveries needed for breakthroughs in patient care and to extend our reach in reducing the burden of disease for patients and their families," said Dr. Jonathan S. Lewin, Emory’s executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of Emory Healthcare.

The Winship Cancer Institute Tower in Midtown will provide what officials call urgently needed infusion facilities, operating rooms, clinical examination rooms, spaces for rehabilitation, imaging technology and clinical research capacity.

In April 2017, Winship Cancer Institute became Georgia’s first and only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, joining an elite group which the top 1 percent of cancer centers nationwide.

The new Health Sciences Research Building will house faculty and staff who are charged with developing a pipeline of cures, interventions and prevention methods, all aimed at improving the health of patients.

Research teams working in the state-of-the-art facility will partner with Emory colleagues to target five emerging priorities in 21st century medicine — brain health, cancer, heart and vascular health, immunology and infectious diseases and radiology, biomedical engineering, and imaging sciences.

In a continuing partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory researchers in the new building also will investigate childhood diseases, focusing on discoveries that advance treatments and cures for the youngest patients.

Photo courtesy Emory University