WESTWOOD—Entertainment mogul, David Geffen has donated $100 million to UCLA for a new secondary school. According to a message from Gene D. Block, the UCLA Chancellor, the new school will be named the Geffen Academy.

David Geffen.
David Geffen.

The Academy is anticipated to open during the 2017-2018 school year with approximately 125 students enrolled from the sixth grade and ninth grade.

The expectation is a growth of approximately 600 or more students from grades 6 to 12, according to an information sheet from the Geffen Academy on the UCLA website. Fifty percent of the students will come from the Los Angeles community and the other 50 percent from UCLA employees.

The donation will help fund a financial aid program for low and middle income families. It is projected that more than 40 percent of the student body will receive financial aid.

The Kinross Building, which is on campus, will be renovated for the new school. When enrollment expands, a new building will be constructed adjacent to the Academy.

“The Geffen Academy continues UCLA’s strong history of supporting and improving K-12 education for a diverse array of students,” said Sibyll Carnochan Catalan, who joined UCLA a year ago to direct the campuses college preparatory school planning efforts.

“We are developing a cutting-edge, research-based curriculum that will help students become sophisticated, engaged, lifelong learners prepared for the challenges of the 21st century,” she added.