Record-breaking gift will boost USD's STEM programs

Driving the news: Shiley announced the pledge Saturday at the Founders Gala celebrating USD's 75th anniversary.

Zoom in: The promised money, to be paid over time, will establish the "Shiley STEM Initiative," fund a new cross-disciplinary STEM facility with teaching and lab space, and increase undergraduate research opportunities.

• More than 1,200 students major in STEM at USD — double what it was 10 years ago.
• The gift will also support The Old Globe and USD Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, and create scholarships and programs for veterans and military connected students.

Flashback: Shiley donated $20 million to USD in 2012 to create the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering.

• Before that, the family gave $13.5 million to grow the university's science and technology center, help with theater renovations and expand the Masters in Fine Arts program, per the Union-Tribune.

Between the lines: Shiley's late husband, engineer Donald P. Shiley, co-invented an artificial heart valve in the 1960s that transformed heart surgery and other life-saving medical devices.

• The couple donated tens of millions of dollars over the years to local medical research and education institutions, including Scripps, UC San Diego, and USD.