Philanthropist, financier and longtime UCLA benefactor Iris Cantor donated $10 million to the university’s David Geffen School of Medicine to educate and train clinicians and scientists in women’s health care, the university announced Friday.
“Iris Cantor’s profound contributions to women’s health have strengthened UCLA’s medical enterprise by allowing us to help improve the health of thousands of women,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “We are grateful for her vision and support that has helped make UCLA a leader in providing this critical care all across the region.”
Of the $10 million gift, $8 million will support training and education in women’s health care at the medical school, while $2 million will create the Iris Cantor Endowed Chair in Women’s Health, an administrative chair to be held by the director of the Iris Cantor Women’s Health Center, currently Dr. Janet Pregler.
In recognition of the donation, UCLA renamed the auditorium at the David Geffen School of Medicine the Iris Cantor Auditorium.
A longtime university supporter, her name already adorns the Iris Cantor Center for Breast Imaging; the Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Center; and the Iris Cantor UCLA Women’s Health Education and Resource Center.
“This gift is an indelible and lasting tribute to my commitment to health care, and in this instance, women’s health-care training, discovery and healing,” Cantor said in a statement released by the university. “It will provide inspiration for researchers and clinicians, as well as hope and healing for women globally.”
Cantor is president and CEO of Amethyst Inc., a financial holding company. She and her late husband, B. Gerald Cantor, established a charitable foundation in 1978, and she serves as its chair and president. According to the university, her financial support of women’s health programs stem from the death of her sister from breast cancer.