University of San Francisco Commits a $5M Gift from the Koret Foundation to Benefit Campus and Community

SAN FRANCISCO (June 16, 2020) – The University of San Francisco (USF) has committed a gift of $5 million in new grants from the Koret Foundation, a private foundation focused on strengthening the Bay Area community. The grants will benefit students, programs, faculty, and facilities at the University of San Francisco. This grant is part of the Foundation’s announcement of grants totaling $50 million for Bay Area colleges and universities as part of its Higher Education Initiative.

The grant supports an initiative for transfer students, scholarships for veterans, scholarships for students with demonstrated need, programs for college readiness for first-generation students, faculty research, supporting needed improvement to the War Memorial Gymnasium at the Sobrato Center, and renovations for the Harney Science Center Innovation Hive, an important component for USF’s new engineering program.

“We at the Koret Foundation are very proud of our long relationship with USF and look forward to being a partner in the future to continue advancing our missions and improving outcomes for students and the broader Bay Area,” said Dr. Michael Boskin, president of the Koret Foundation. “We’re focused on trying to make the experiences of students moving through their educational careers more seamless, and supporting that journey with scholarships as well.”

The University of San Francisco and the Koret Foundation have a longstanding history of partnership and collaboration. Dating back to the early 1980s, the Koret Foundation has granted USF more than $15 million in support for several important initiatives.

“We are grateful for the longstanding collaboration and partnership with the Koret Foundation,” said Peter Wilch, vice president for development at USF. “The impact of our partnership and the generosity of the Foundation has benefitted generations of Dons and the current support of our comprehensive campaign will allow USF to continue to fulfill our mission of educating students to craft a more just and humane world."

About the University of San Francisco

The University of San Francisco is a private, Jesuit Catholic university that reflects the diversity, optimism, and opportunities of the city that surrounds it. USF offers more than 230 undergraduate, graduate, professional, and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, law, education, and nursing and health professions. At USF, each course is an intimate learning community in which top professors encourage students to turn learning into positive action, so the students graduate equipped to do well in the world — and inspired to change it for the better. For more information, visit usfca.edu.