The University of Pennsylvania announced today that P. Roy and Diana Vagelos have made a gift of $83.9 million to fund science initiatives across the School of Arts & Sciences. This commitment is the largest single gift ever made to the School and among the largest in Penn’s history. Their total support to Penn Arts & Sciences now stands at $239 million and represents an extraordinary investment in innovation and basic science.
The largest portion of this transformative gift, $50 million, will enhance graduate education in the Department of Chemistry, including the establishment of 20 new Vagelos Fellows. The gift is also establishing a permanent endowment for the Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology, launched in 2016 through founding support from the Vageloses to position Penn as one of the premier energy research and technology centers in the nation. In addition, the gift is funding an endowed chair in chemistry and student awards honoring leaders of three undergraduate programs that carry the Vagelos name: the Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER), and the Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences.