WESTWOOD—According to a news release from UCLA, on Thursday, March 23, UCLA announced a $20 million donation from the Samueli Foundation to the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.

“This latest gift from Henry and Susan Samueli demonstrates not only their deep commitment to higher education but their belief that everyone deserves a chance at a quality education,” said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. “Thanks to the Samuelis’ vision, students from all backgrounds will now have an opportunity to explore their dreams and become the innovators of the future.”

The donation will support a new program which offers scholarships and internships for up to 50 first-year students annually. This program will also help undergraduate students connect their academic studies to real-world experiences.

“Susan and I hope this gift will spark the thrill of problem-solving in UCLA Engineering freshmen and ease financial burdens that would otherwise deter them from reaching their full potential,” said Henry Samueli.

“In particular, the technology sector lags in the number of engineers who are women and underrepresented minorities, and it is our sincere hope that this scholarship program will help support the professional growth of those students at UCLA.”

The new donation pushes the UCLA $4.2 billion Centennial Campaign past the $3 billion mark, for which Samueli serves as Orange County chair. The donation also pushes UCLA Engineering closer to its own campaign goal of $250 million.

In 1999, UCLA’s school of engineering was named after Henry Samueli, in recognition of a $30 million donation from the Samueli Foundation. That same year, UC Irvine school of engineering was also named for Samueli, after receiving a separate $20 million donation from the foundation.

The foundation was founded by Samueli and his wife, Susan in 1999. In 2016, it donated $10 million to UCLA to create endowed engineering faculty chairs and support the school’s expansion.

Henry Samueli is a UCLA alumnus. He earned his bachelor’s in 1975, his master’s in 1976, and his doctorate in 1980. In 1999, he was a member of the engineering faculty and co-founded Broadcom Corp. with one of his students, Henry Nicholas.

In the next few years, UCLA Engineering is planning to increase enrollment by 1,000 students and add 50 more faculty members, due to an increasing demand for undergraduate engineering education.