A roundup of notable gifts compiled by the Chronicle:
Seattle University
The Seattle real-estate developer Richard Hedreen gave $25 million as well as an extensive art collection to his late wife’s alma mater. The $25 million will be used to create the Seattle University Museum of Art, which will be open to the public and provide art-education programs for area schools and other art and cultural organizations. Hedreen founded R.C. Hedreen Company in 1963 and went on to build a number of Seattle hotels and other commercial properties.
He and his late wife, Elizabeth (Betty) Ann Petri Hedreen, built their collection of more than 200 works over 60 years. The collection includes paintings, pottery, photography, etchings and sculptures from the 15th and 16th centuries, to modern and contemporary works.
Betty Hedreen graduated from Seattle University in 1957 and was a longtime supporter of the university and of arts and culture organizations throughout Seattle. She died in 2022. Richard Hedreen said in a news release that he is giving the donation to honor her memory.
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association
Richard and Robin Colburn gave $21 million through their Negaunee Foundation for endowment and the long-term support of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the Negaunee Music Institute, and Symphony Center Presents. The donation also includes money for concert sponsorships and special artistic projects.
Richard Colburn leads Henley Management Company, a private investment firm in Northbrook, Ill. He is also involved in the leadership of Consolidated Electrical Distributors, his family’s electric equipment wholesaler.
The couple started their foundation in 1987, and it primarily supports arts and culture groups, environmental causes, and nonprofits that help the elderly. They have given extensively to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra over the years, including gifts for education and community programs and for overall operating support.
Villanova University
John Drosdick gave $15 million to support the expansion of the College of Engineering’s building and establish an endowment to support the College of Engineering and the building, which will be named Drosdick Hall. He previously gave the engineering college gifts totaling $5 million.
Drosdick retired as the chief executive officer and president of the Dallas oil company Sunoco in 2008. He earned a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from the university in 1965, and he started his career working for the energy giant Exxon, in 1968. He later led the oil company Tosco Corporation and then Ultramar Corporation, a petroleum-products company before joining Sunoco.
Capital Area Food Bank
William (Bill) Conway, Jr. pledged $10 million through his Bedford Falls Foundation to support a range of programs, including the food bank’s ongoing efforts to purchase more fresh produce to distribute to people in need, supply critical nutrition to children, and provide nutritious groceries to college students facing hunger.
Conway, a co-founder of the Washington, D.C., private-equity firm the Carlyle Group, made the donation to honor his late wife, Joanne Barkett Conway, who died in January. She was a longtime supporter, along with her husband, of nursing programs at universities throughout Maryland and Virginia. She owned The Golden Door, a luxury health and wellness resort in San Marcos, Calif.
Metropolitan State University Denver
Frank and Gina Day pledged $10 million to expand the university’s health institute, which is home to health-related programs across 10 academic departments. The institute was launched in 2018 as part of an effort to address Colorado’s shortage of health-care workers and has been named for the Days.
The gift makes it possible for the university to train more students in a range of fields, including nursing, nutrition, behavioral health, speech-language pathology, and social work, and to build an integrated approach to health care.
Frank Day founded Concept Restaurants, a collection of hotels and restaurants in Boulder, Colo., and has served as president of the company since 1976. Gina Day is a former medical technician. She worked for Boulder Community Health and the Boulder People’s Clinic.
Michigan State University
Joan Secchia has committed $10 million to support the university’s varsity men’s and women’s tennis programs. Some of the money will pay for renovations to the university’s tennis facilities, including new outdoor courts and improved spectator seating at the outdoor courts.
Secchia earned a degree in elementary education from the university and then worked as an elementary school teacher. Her late husband, Peter Secchia, led Universal Forest Products, a lumber company in Grand Rapids, Mich., and served as U.S. Ambassador to Italy from 1989 to 1993.
To learn about other big donations, see our database of gifts of $1 million or more, which is updated regularly.