Education
Education

Woodruff Foundation gives record $400 million to Emory University

Emory University employs about 300 foreign workers with H-1B visas, and they are crucial to its research work, officials with the school say. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
Emory University employs about 300 foreign workers with H-1B visas, and they are crucial to its research work, officials with the school say. HYOSUB SHIN / HSHIN@AJC.COM
By
Jan 8, 2018

The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation has pledged $400 million to Emory University for medical research and to develop improved patient care models, the university announced Monday.

The gift is the largest ever received by the Atlanta-based 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,” Dr. Jonathan S. Lewin, Emory’s executive vice president for health affairs and CEO of Emory Healthcare, said in a statement.

Some beneficiaries of the gift will include the Winship Cancer Institute, which plans a new tower in Midtown, as well as plans for a new Health Sciences Research Building on Emory’s Druid Hills campus.

Robert W. Woodruff, the late leader of The Coca-Cola Company, became a major benefactor of Emory beginning in 1937. In 1979, he and his brother, George, gave Emory the then-record sum of $105 million, the first nine-figure gift to an institution of higher education.

In other Education news:

WATCH: Service Dog Joins College Graduate During Ceremony

About the Author

Eric Stirgus joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2001. He is the newsroom's education editor. Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eric is active in the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists and the Education Writers Association and enjoys mentoring aspiring journalists.

Follow Eric Stirgus on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Instructor Daniel Jean-Baptiste reminds students to "measure twice, cut once" while using a hand saw at the Construction Ready accelerated summer program at Westside Works in Atlanta on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. The program provides training for careers in construction and the skilled trades. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com

Accelerated summer program prepares Georgia students for construction careers

Through a partnership with Construction Ready, Westside Works offers students a chance to learn construction skills in just four weeks. The course normally takes 6-8 months.

This child care grant changes Georgia parents’ lives. Feds may cut it.

The small but mighty federal grant helps low-income parents pay for child care while they finish college.

Congress considers holding universities accountable if degrees don’t pay

U.S. House and Senate are considering pieces of legislation that could make colleges and universities financially accountable for students who struggle after leaving school.

The Latest

The Atlanta Public Schools ethics commission voted Friday to advance a complaint against School Board Chair Erika Mitchell. The commission is made up of community members who serve as a watchdog on the district. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Atlanta ethics commission advances complaint against school board chair

Accelerated summer program prepares Georgia students for construction careers

This child care grant changes Georgia parents’ lives. Feds may cut it.

Featured

President Donald Trump (right) and Vice President JD Vance sit in the Situation Room on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the White House in Washington. (White House via AP)

Credit: AP

Trump’s Iran strike divides Georgia Republicans — and Democrats, too

Top state officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp, voice support for U.S. bombing of nuclear sites in Iran, but staunch Trump ally MTG is among the strike's sharpest critics

Judge: Arrests could result from plan to end homelessness in downtown Atlanta before World Cup

Atlanta is scrambling to create housing for homeless people before the World Cup arrives, but a judge says the plan could lead to some arrests of homeless people.

EXCLUSIVE

Historic land deal halts mine planned next to Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp

The move puts an immediate halt to a project that scientists and environmentalists had feared could irreparably damage North America’s largest blackwater swamp.