Gift from Lorry I. Lokey is Largest in University`s History; Donation Is for New Campus Learning Center and Scholarships
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE via COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Apr 4, 2001--Santa Clara University today announced that Lorry I. Lokey, (broadcast: pronounced low-kay) founder and president of San Francisco-based Business Wire, has pledged $20 million to help transform the 150-year old institution`s library into a technology-infused learning center, and to fund endowed scholarships.
SCU President Paul Locatelli, S.J., said the gift by Lokey is the largest single gift in the University`s history.
Locatelli thanked Lokey and praised his vision: ''Lorry is a rare and wonderful individual, a man who understands not only the value of money but the value of education to change lives. His philanthropy is consistent, inspirational, and far-sighted.''
Lokey, 74, is a Stanford graduate and member of the Santa Clara University Board of Trustees. He said he made his gift in recognition of the value of education to improve the lives of individuals and create stronger societies.
''Nearly everyone is born with a perfectly good brain,'' he said, ''and the more Santa Claras there are, the better our world is bound to become. There`s no reason Santa Clara cannot become another Stanford or Harvard in the excellence of its product -- the students.''
Lokey`s gift will provide $15 million to help create a new, modern technology-infused campus learning center, and $5 million to endow scholarships. The University is planning a new learning center that will combine the physical resources and professional support of a traditional university library with wide access to new technologies for its students and faculty. No date has been set for construction.
The current main University library, Orradre Library, opened in 1964 and is named after the late Michel Orradre. The library has approximately 1.3 million books and documents, and 5,200 subscriptions.
Locatelli said the new center will serve a wide range of campus needs: ''Books remain vital to learning, but there is, right now, a revolution taking place in how we access the information in books, journals, and databases.
''We aim to create a world-class resource where our faculty and students can gather information from around the world in unprecedented volume. Santa Clara must be part of this new wave of accessibility,'' Locatelli said. ''Lorry Lokey`s lead gift moves us far along that path, and will inspire other donations.''
Lokey founded Business Wire, the fastest-growing and largest independent commercial news wire in the world, in 1961. By his own account, he had no idea that the service he envisioned reaching possibly to Reno, Portland and Seattle would, 40 years later, have 500 employees and offices in 26 American cities and in London and Brussels, along with affiliated operations in Tokyo, Toronto, and Latin America.
In recent years, Lokey has given more than $85 million to a number of non-profit institutions including Stanford University, Bellarmine College Preparatory School, Mills College, and the Leo Baeck School in Haifa, Israel. Other grantees include the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Environmental Defense Fund.
A 1949 journalism graduate of Stanford University, Lokey is a former night wire editor of United Press. He has six grandchildren, and three grown daughters, one of whom, Ann Lokey, is corporate secretary and vice president of technology research and development at Business Wire. He still works full time and is known for taking groups of employees along on his vacation trips to Hawaii, Europe, and Israel because ''I hate to see them missing such great times, and their company adds to our enjoyment.''
His belief in the importance of continuing education has led him to create frequent opportunities for longtime employees to continue their education at the company`s expense or to take on professional development challenges within the company.
Joanne Harrington, a member of SCU`s Board of Fellows and the individual who introduced Lokey to the University, said he has ''a passion for life. He loves being around stimulating people, visiting other countries and environments, and seeing where he can help people make the most out of their lives through education.''
The University will honor Lokey at a private event on April 4 on the school`s campus. Lokey`s gift also is the largest pledge or gift by a non-alumnus. The Leavey Foundation, created by the late Thomas E. Leavey, a 1922 SCU alumnus, has given $30 million to the University since 1989, in three separate gifts, with the largest, $15 million, in 2000 to rebuild the Leavey Center. The University also has received $16.9 million since 1995 from the Arline and Thomas J. Bannan Foundation. Thomas Bannan was a 1923 SCU alumnus.
Santa Clara University is a Catholic, Jesuit university located in the heart of Silicon Valley, with 4,300 undergraduate and 3,050 graduate students. The university offers a rigorous undergraduate curriculum and nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. For the 11th consecutive year, it has been ranked second among all regional universities in the West by U.S. News & World Report. California`s oldest institution of higher education, SCU celebrates its 150th anniversary in the 2000-01 academic year.
Reporters: To arrange an interview with Locatelli or Lokey, call Barry Holtzclaw, media relations, at 408/554-5126, or email [email protected]. Photos are available on request. For more information about Santa Clara University, see www.scu.edu.
About Business Wire
Founded in San Francisco in 1961 by its president, Lorry I. Lokey, veteran journalist and public relations executive, Business Wire delivers more news from more sources to more destinations than any other service in the world.
With content from more than 34,000 organizations, including major U.S. corporations, Fortune 1000 and NASDAQ companies, Business Wire remains the fastest-growing and largest independent commercial news wire in the world. The company electronically disseminates full-text news releases for public and investor relations professionals simultaneously to the news media, the Internet, online services and databases, and the investment community worldwide. Business Wire combines a brick-and-mortar foundation with the vision of an Internet company.
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