Lorry I. Lokey, The owner, and founder of Business Wire, an international media relations service, has donated $10 million to the University of Haifa for the construction of a new campus that will consist of at least four buildings located throughout the Port of Haifa and the city’s downtown area.
Lokey was inspired by University of Haifa’s unique “multiversity” model: a multi-campus institution with locations throughout northern Israel, easing access for students and adding vitality to its city and region while allowing a wide range of ideas and activities to flourish in a diverse community.
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While Haifa Municipality assisting the University with the acquisition of some of the new campus’s buildings, Lokey’s philanthropy will significantly offset the project’s renovation costs.
Lokey, a native of Portland, Ore., moved to Northern California after graduating from Stanford University with a degree in journalism and acquired his knowledge of news wire services as an editor for United Press International. He launched Business Wire in 1961 with seven news releases for 16 media outlets in California; today, it publishes between 500 and 1,000 press releases per day to thousands of news media worldwide.
Lorry Lokey is a well-known Jewish-American philanthropist, has donated over $800 million – 98 percent of his lifetime earnings – to charities, with the majority of the money given to universities and educational institutions, including University of Oregon, Stanford University, Leo Baeck School, Weizmann Institute of Science, and now, University of Haifa.
He is an early signer of The Giving Pledge—a commitment by the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to dedicate the majority of their wealth to giving back.
The announcement of $10 million in funding for the new campus comes just a few months after the University announced an $18 million donation from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to begin building the 20-story Helmsley Health Discovery Tower in partnership with Rambam Healthcare Campus and Technion.
In addition, University President Ron Robin is overseeing a $10 million commitment to build an artificial intelligence technology center in Haifa in partnership with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
