Diane and Harry Rinker
CONTACT (Gift):
Mary Platt
Director of Communications and Media Relations
Chapman University
platt@chapman.edu
CONTACT (Science):
Sheri Ledbetter
PR Specialist
Chapman University
714-289-3143
sledbett@chapman.edu
ORANGE, Calif. – Chapman University’s continuing growth in the health science has been given a boost by a $15 million gift from Newport Beach couple Harry and Diane Rinker, announced at this evening’s American Celebration gala on the Chapman campus in Orange. The gift will name Chapman’s new health science campus in Irvine The Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus. The funds will be used to support Chapman’s graduate programs in health sciences housed at the Irvine campus, including pharmacy, physical therapy and physician’s assistant.
“Harry and Diane’s visionary generosity will make possible the education of future health scientists in Orange County,” said Chapman President James L. Doti. “The graduate programs that will be housed within the Rinker Health Science Campus will help to address the critical social need for a new generation of healthcare professionals, as well as provide new methods in educating future health professionals.”
This transformational gift follows in the steps of other major announcements from Chapman in the past year dedicated to growth in health science. In 2012, the university purchased two large research-and-development buildings in the Irvine Spectrum area to launch its health science campus. In addition to purchasing the facilities in Irvine, Chapman is currently raising funds to build the new Center for Science and Technology on its Orange campus. Chapman has also recently announced the development of a new School of Pharmacy and a physician’s assistant program – both of which are slated to begin admitting students in fall 2014 and which will be housed on the Rinker campus, as will Chapman’s existing physical therapy doctoral program – one of the oldest in the nation.
“Chapman University has devoted significant attention to science and technology in recent years and this gift from Harry and Diane Rinker will help propel Chapman into an area where we think we can make a long-term impact,” said Chapman Chancellor Daniele Struppa.
Harry and Diane Rinker are longtime supporters of Chapman – the library in the university’s Dale E. Fowler School of Law is named for them, and two of their grandchildren are recent Chapman graduates. Harry Rinker owns the Rinker Company, a real estate investment and development company in Costa Mesa, Calif.
ABOUT THE SCHMID COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Chapman University’s Schmid College of Science and Technology offers 11 undergraduate degree programs, eight graduate degree programs and one Ph.D. degree in both basic and applied sciences. The undergraduate programs include biochemistry and molecular biology, biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, computer information systems, environmental science and policy, health sciences, math, physics, psychology and software engineering. The graduate programs include food science, physical therapy, marriage and family therapy, and computational science, which has both an M.S. and Ph.D. degree program offering. The college also includes three Centers of Excellence in: Earth Systems Modeling and Observation; Computation, Algebra and Topology; and Complex and Hyper Complex Analysis.
ABOUT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
Consistently ranked among the top universities in the West, Chapman University attracts highly qualified students from around the globe. Its programs are designed to encourage leadership in innovation, creativity and collaboration, and are increasingly recognized for providing an extraordinary educational experience. The university now excels in film and media arts, performing arts, educational studies, economics and business, law, humanities and the sciences. Student enrollment in graduate and undergraduate programs is approaching 7,000, and Chapman University alumni are found throughout California and the world.
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